Demon Hunters Loup Garou
by JillRJohnson
Summary: Series that takes place after season 4 and goes in an alternate direction. Darker Charmed Ones. Better Summary within.
1. Chapter 1

-1**Author's Note:** This story takes place after season four the only difference is that Piper isn't pregnant. I'm thinking of turning this into a series with the Charmed Ones away from San Francisco and traveling around North America looking for demons, and magic-related monsters to vanquish. Just depends on the reception this story gets.

**Warning:** Loup Garou is a monster, therefore, expect some bloodshed. And since my stories seem to write themselves, there could be future warnings and I will do my best to try to remember to write the warnings. For now though I will deem this fiction RATED R or in fan terms, rated M.

**DEMON HUNTERS: LOUP GAROU**

Prue died. Paige showed up. Cole lost his demon half. Phoebe married Cole. Cole was the Source. Phoebe got pregnant. They vanquished Cole. Phoebe lost her baby to the Seer. They chose to follow their charmed destiny. And through it all, Piper Halliwell faltered. She had never been the strongest. Even though Piper was now the oldest, she found that Paige had become the strongest, doling out advice at every hard turn of events. It had been Paige that had talked Piper out of her drunken stupor, and she had saved Phoebe from Cole. It had been Paige that kept her from becoming a fury and who had stayed by her side no matter what. She thanked God for Paige.

Piper watched Paige tending to some flowers in front of the manor. It had been a quiet San Francisco summer. Phoebe had left the previous afternoon for a writer's conference in Atlanta for two weeks, and so far, no demons had come across their paths. Piper was more than happy that no demons had come their way since they had, once and for all, vanquished the Source. She really was happy with exception to the fact that there was nothing to take her mind off the fact that she and Leo couldn't conceive a child. That fact was the reason he and Piper had been fighting non-stop. He had actually orbed out in the middle of an argument the night before.

Piper, sitting on the porch steps of the manor, lowered her eyes and watched as an ant crawled around a crack in the sidewalk.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Deep in the bayou of Louisiana, in a dark green swamp boat known as a pirogue, Jack Bijou woke from a sweat-filled slumber. He covered his eyes, shielding them from the burning, volatile sun. His hand felt sticky against his forehead. He sat straight up realizing he had no idea how he had gotten where he was. As his eyes adjusted to the heat and the sun, he saw a sight that frightened him. His hands were covered with thick, fresh blood. His heart pounded and his stomach churned as he picked up a piece of clothing from the bottom of the boat. He swallowed hard as he realized it was a shirt, a woman's shirt, covered in blood.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Paige took a break from her gardening and looked at Piper. Seeing her oldest sister not blinking, she knew she was lost deep in thought. She watched as Piper frowned and maintained a look of dejection. Paige, who had been kneeling in the dirt, sat back on her heels and let her brown eyes take in the sight of her oldest sister. Paige could understand why Piper was sad. All Piper wanted was to have that little girl she had seen in the future. As Paige stood slowly to move nearer to Piper, she wished with all her might that Phoebe were home. She knew that Piper was getting ready to talk.

"Hey, sis. Penny for your thoughts." Paige spoke quietly as she sat on the steps next to Piper.

Piper grinned, "Have you ever wondered, when someone says, 'Penny for your thoughts' and you put your two cents in, what happens to the other cent?"

Paige looked at Piper, perplexed and amused, "Is that what you've been sitting here thinking about?"

"I wish." Piper's answer was filled with more than enough emotion to let Paige know that it was time for action.

"Okay, Piper, you know what you need?"

Piper looked into her youngest sister's face. It was filled with love and with hope. Piper smiled despite herself. She was glad that Paige had saved her so many times. She only hoped that if it were ever necessary that she could do the same with as much compassion and fervor as Paige.

"No, Paige, tell me what I need."

Paige smiled her thousand-watt smile, and took Piper's hand in her own, "You need a vacation. A vacation with me."

"Is that right?" Piper was more than intrigued.

"Yes, I think we have a lot to talk about. You and me and Phoebe."

"But Phoebe's gone for two more weeks." Piper wasn't sure she could handle her depression much longer alone.

Paige was a step ahead of her, "I know, and that's why we're going to Phoebe."

"Atlanta? You want to go to Atlanta?" Piper wasn't appalled by the idea but she could have thought of more exotic locales.

"More than that. We're going to drive to Atlanta." Paige was bubbling over with pride at her plan.

"You want to drive to Georgia? You want to drive to Eastaboga?"

"Where's Eastaboga?" Paige wasn't following Piper's sarcasm.

Piper laughed, "Eastaboga...it's just a saying, like saying you want to go to backwoods butt-fu..."

"Okay! Okay, I get the euphemism. Do you eat with that mouth?"

Piper laughed again. Paige always made her laugh. It was one more way that Paige saved her. She looked into her little sister's big brown, pleading eyes, and sighed a hesitant surrender.

"Okay, so we have a location to get to...how do we get there?"

Paige rolled her eyes, "I already told you. We're going to drive there."

"Paige, I know that. I meant what vehicle do we take? I can't afford to put the miles on mine and yours is..."

"...too small? Yeah, I know. That's why I thought we could rent a car. Maybe a big, bustling convertible."

"You're serious, aren't you?" Piper looked at Paige with resignation. Paige nodded.

"Fine. Now, little sis, when do you think we should leave?"

"In the morning?" Paige half asked, half stated.

"I should have guessed that."

"So we're really going to do this? You and me, cross country road trip?"

Piper felt more of the happiness and excitement that Paige was feeling and let go of her sadness and depression just enough to be as excited as she could be, "Yes, we're really going to do this. So...you go get that big convertible you were talking about and I will start packing."

Paige jumped up and down on the front porch and then leaned over and hugged Piper. Piper shook her head, just smiling and hoping that their trip would be carefree and non-demonic. They both entered the house in time to hear the phone ringing. Piper answered it, a smile in her voice. Phoebe was on the other end of the line.

"Hey Piper, you sound happy."

"I think I am Phoebe. How's Atlanta?"

"They call it Hot-lanta for a reason."

"That good, huh?"

"Piper, it's hot as hell outside. It's ninety plus degrees and with this humidity thing it feels like a hundred plus."

"Misery loves company."

"What?"

"Paige and I are coming to Atlanta."

"Are you serious?"

"You don't sound happy."

"No, I am Piper, I am. But...is it safe to leave the manor unprotected?"

"It'll be fine, Phoebe. We're bringing the Book of Shadows with us. Besides, I'm not worried about the house. It's the three of us I'm worried about."

"What do you mean? Are we in danger?"

"No. Not in any demon danger, but I think we could all use some non-magic bonding time together and what better way than a really good vacation away from home?"

"So, when will your plane arrive?"

Piper was about to answer when Paige entered the kitchen with her car keys and purse.

She whispered to Piper, "I'm going to get a car for us. Is that Phoebe?"

Piper nodded.

Paige smiled, "Hey Phoebe!"

Piper laughed as she watched the youngest Halliwell scramble from the kitchen and outside on a mission.

"Was that Paige?" Phoebe was waiting patiently.

"Of course."

"What is she doing?"

"Our little sister is going to get our Thelma-and-Louise-mobile."

"Huh?" Phoebe didn't even try to mask her confusion.

"We aren't flying to Atlanta, Phoebe, we're driving."

Piper didn't expect the laughter, "What's so funny, Phoebe?"

"Nothing Piper, it's just that you get cranky driving from our house to P3. How will you ever make it all the way to Georgia?"

"I do not get cranky, thank you very much, drive through. And besides, I'm letting Paige drive. She's renting a convertible and we're going to take our sweet time."

"You'll have to. It's a three day drive in a hurry."

"So then expect us in four days?"

"Okay, Piper. You guys just be careful, please. The conference will be over day after tomorrow and then it's all free time."

"Okay, sweetie. Have fun and be good."

"Do I have to be good?"

"No, but if you can't be good then be good at it."

"Bye Piper."

"I love you, Pheebs."

"Love you too."

Piper hung up the phone, thoroughly excited about their road trip. She raced up the stairs to begin packing.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack shuddered as he threw the bloodied garment into the swamp water. He remained still as he watched an alligator float nearby. His mind was a massive mess of confusion. He remembered being at a bar in New Orleans the evening before. There was a girl. He tried hard to remember her face. He only had a few beers. He remembered looking up into the full moon. Then nothing. Jack Bijou couldn't remember what had happened to him.

He looked around the pirogue for a paddle or a stick. He found a paddle and began to move away from the swamps. He couldn't believe that he had gotten so far away from New Orleans in one night. He wondered if he had hurt someone. He wondered where he had been all night and he wondered where his car was.

XXXXXXXXXXX

As she danced about her and Leo's bedroom, Piper realized how non-melancholy she had become. She hadn't felt so excited since the day that she and Leo were married. As she thought of Leo, he orbed in. Piper frowned at the sight of the blue orbs.

"Hi Piper."

"Leo."

"You're still mad?"

"Yes, I am, but not because we were fighting. I'm mad because you orbed out in the middle of it all."

"I know. I'm sorry. I just...I can't fight with you any more. I love you too much."

Piper wasn't sure what to say, "Leo, I love you too. But walking away solves nothing."

Leo raised a curious eyebrow at the suitcase Piper was stuffing. Piper followed his gaze and laughed nervously.

"I'm not leaving, Leo. I mean, I am, but it's temporary. Paige and I are driving across the country to meet up with Phoebe in Atlanta and then the three of us will be driving back here. I just need to get away, you know."

"But walking away solves nothing, Piper."

Piper bit her bottom lip. She hated when Leo used her own words against her.

"Leo, it has nothing to do with you. The truth is I haven't been coping very well for the past year and there's a lot of things about myself I need to find out."

"Piper, we're married, we have to find out these things together."

"I know Leo, I do. But, don't you see it? I'm tired of being the weak one. The one who can't hack it. It's time for me to find my place in this family and to make it real. And I need to spend a few weeks with my sisters to figure it out. We all decided that the Charmed Ones will be our destiny forever. And where ever that destiny takes us I have to follow."

"Even if it takes you away from me?" Leo's eyes were filling with the shimmering glow of tears.

"Leo, my destiny brought me to you, what makes you think that it will take me away from you?"

"Piper, this destiny has already destroyed our future with a child. What makes you think it won't destroy this marriage?"

"You're the one destroying this marriage, Leo."

Leo shook his head in sorrow. Before Piper could say anything else, he orbed out. She stood alone in the middle of their bedroom, shaking from the inside out. She knew that the future they had seen long ago would come true sooner than either of them believed or wanted. However, when they divorced in this future there would be no Melinda leaving them connected.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Paige ran faster and faster through the damp, dark forest. Limbs tore at her clothing. Her feet were soaked in the shallow murky puddles that covered the ground. Her body was drenched in the moisture of humidity. She gasped for air as she tried to propel herself faster and harder through the foliage. And then she stopped. Her breathing was the only sound she heard. No crickets, no frogs, no creatures, nothing. Just the sound of her own fear rising up and down in her lungs. She slowly turned in a circle trying to peer through the black night. Then it came. From nowhere it jumped upon her, teeth bared, saliva dripping, fur standing on edge. A roar like no other. As it wrapped its teeth around her neck...

Phoebe sat straight up in her hotel bed. Her vocal cords wrapped around a scream. Her hair was matted with sweat against her neck. She drew in a sharp gulp of air and swallowed, allowing her heart to slow its racing speed. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand beside the bed. It was almost dawn. She felt the shakiness in her hands. She picked up the phone intent on calling her youngest sister. She had to know if Paige was safe. The nightmare had been so real. Paige had been in imminent danger.

As Phoebe picked up the phone she realized that it was only three in the morning in San Francisco. After a brief hesitation, she dialed the very familiar phone number.

XXXXXXXXX

Piper was sleeping hard when the phone rang scaring her more than usual. She knew that a phone call at that time of night was never good news. Piper felt someone sleeping in the bed beside her. She turned on the bedside lamp and saw that the person was Paige. She was amused slightly by the fact that the telephone didn't even touch Paige's deep slumber. But she was curious to know why Paige was there. Piper quickly grabbed the phone by the bed as it rang a third time.

Her voice was groggy and thick, "Hello?"

"Piper? It's Phoebe."

"Phoebe, are you okay, what's wrong?" The fear in her little sister's voice made Piper afraid.

"Is Paige okay?"

Piper hesitated, "Um...yeah, I think so. She's sleeping."

"She's in the manor?" Phoebe sounded relieved and skeptical.

"Phoebe, what's wrong? Did you have a premonition?"

"No, it was a very vivid nightmare. So you're sure she's there."

Piper laid a hand on Paige's head as though she was feeling for physical proof that her youngest sister was indeed there, "Yeah, Pheebs, she's right here."

"She's with you?"

"Yeah, I guess she must have crept in here while I was asleep."

Phoebe was quiet for a moment, "That's new, isn't it? I mean, she hasn't exactly been big on the affection."

"I know. She's never done it before. It makes me wonder if something is wrong with her. Should I wake her up?" Piper looked again at Paige and saw that her hands were balled into fists; her nails were digging into her palms.

"No, no, don't wake her up. I don't want her to know that I had a dream or whatever."

"What was it about, Phoebe?"

"You don't want to know, Piper. What time are you guys leaving in the morning?"

"Early. We want to get to Phoenix tomorrow."

"Sweetie, that's a 12 hour drive."

"I know Phoebe. But it'll be fun."

"What are you doing about the club for two weeks?"

"I've got the managers working shifts, and I've asked Daryl to stop by and check in on the place when he can."

"Okay, well, it sounds like you're ready to go. Call me when you leave the manor in the morning and call me when you get to Phoenix. If I'm not in the hotel room then leave a message at the front desk."

"Alright. And Phoebe...I do want to know what the nightmare was about."

"It was bad Piper. And I just want to be sure that you guys are safe, you know?"

"I do know. I know very much what that feels like." Piper ran her hand over Paige's hair. Paige still had not stirred from sleep.

"Okay, well you guys be careful tomorrow and just have some fun, please."

"Yes ma'am little sister. And you go learn something good."

"Right. I love you."

"I love you too.

Piper hung up the phone and turned her attention to Paige. She didn't bother to turn off the bedside lamp as she lay back down and stretched her arm across Paige pulling her in close. Sleep came.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack Bijou smelled the now-familiar scent of blood before he even opened his eyes. He prayed that he would find no woman's clothing, no telltale signs of foul play, but as he slowly focused on his surroundings he was less than surprised to find blood on his hands and a woman's high-heel shoe in the pirogue with him. Once again he was in the swamps of Louisiana. Knowing no one could hear him he let out a scream of terror and confusion. He couldn't understand what was happening to him.


	2. Chapter 2

-1The large baby blue convertible sat on the street in front of the manor. Piper closed the trunk after she secured the last of their bags. She laughed as Paige came down the manor stairs wearing a bandana on her head. 

Piper stifled a giggle, "Are you ready, Thelma?" 

"Always, Louise." 

Piper turned serious, "Okay, do we have the Book?" 

"Check." 

"Did you lock all the doors?" 

"Check." 

"Did you do a protection spell for the manor?" 

"And again with the check." 

Piper nodded still unsure about leaving the manor, but sure enough to walk around to the passenger side of the car and get in. 

"Um...Piper?" 

Piper looked up at Paige who stood outside the vehicle on the driver's side. 

"What?" Piper saw a look of concern on Paige's face. 

"Shouldn't you talk to Leo before we go?" 

"He can find us, Paige," Piper's voice was filled with frustration and fatigue. 

Paige decided not to push the issue until they were well on their way. Paige knew that talking about Leo might send Piper back into the manor and further into depression. 

"Okay then," Paige said with a grin, "Let's get this puppy running." 

The car started with a nice growl. Piper looked happy as she raised her hands toward the sky and felt the breeze passing through her fingers as they drove away from the manor. 

"Hey, Paige. What kind of car is this thing, anyway?" 

"This is a vintage, 1967 Plymouth Sports Fury." 

"Did you say 'Fury'? Is that supposed to be funny or something?" 

Paige laughed loudly as she steered the car toward the interstate. She was happy when she looked over to see Piper smiling widely and freely. 

"Well, Paige, Fury or not, this is a cool car, and you are a very cool sister." 

It was Paige's turn to smile. She had been afraid the night before. She wasn't sure what it was that had scared her so much, but just after midnight she had quietly left her room and curled up in Piper's bed without her oldest sister knowing. When she had awakened at 6am, Piper's arms had been wrapped tightly around her. Paige liked to feel that safe. There were times in her life she thought she'd never know what that felt like. 

He was home again, back in the safety of the city of New Orleans. Jack found it funny that he would ever think of New Orleans as safe, but compared to what he had woken up to two mornings in a row in the swamps, New Orleans was relatively safe. 

His car had been exactly where he'd left it parked the night before. Outside the bar. The same bar he had been at two nights prior. He had been there to ask the bartenders what had happened and whom he had been with but now he couldn't even remember going into the bar. 

The remaining residue of blood swirled down the drain of the shower. He let the warm water sooth his tired body. After being completely sure he was clean, he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He wiped the fogged mirror with his hand. Staring back at him was the handsomely rugged face. He had sandy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and the sweetest dimples. His body was toned, a sign of his constant dedication to time spent in the gym. 

A constant tremor shook his hands. He moved from the bathroom to the bedroom where he dressed in jeans, white T-shirt, and hiking boots. He was determined to figure out what was happening to him and in order to do that, he would have to do some backwoods hiking. He couldn't possibly believe that he would hurt anyone, but then again, there had been the blood on his hands, and the clothing in the boat. And it was the boat that he had left tied up somewhere in the Lac Des Allemandes River Basin of the Barataria Swamps which hid what little evidence he had that something had gone amiss. 

Her eyes opened suddenly and drew in the sight before her. A black road stretched out in front of her, hypnotizing her and making her unaware of the bright lights looming before her. Paige sucked in a deep gulp of air and let it out. From the passenger seat, she watched the road sign ahead. Green with white lettering illuminated by the high beams of the headlights. "Phoenix 5 miles." 

The radio broke through her sleepy demeanor, "KNIX 102.5 Country FM, Phoenix's number one station will be back with more music after these messages." 

Paige looked from the radio to the full moon above. The lunar being had been gathering size and light for several days to reach its peak roundness, which would come the next night. Paige turned her face from the sky to Piper. Her oldest sister looked tired, but content. Paige cleared her throat, which seemed to be dry with road dust. 

"It's cold." Those were the only words that would come out of her mouth. 

Paige felt strange. Heavy. She knew it must be from the icy air wrapping around her. The night air was colder than Paige thought it would be. She had figured Phoenix to be a desert and wasn't prepared for the chill on her legs. 

Piper spoke up, "It's weird that it's this cold. The radio said that it was 100 degrees this afternoon and that the low is only 75." 

"Yeah, well it feels like 50 degrees. But it's probably just because I have on shorts and a tank top." 

"It's okay, sweetie, we're almost in Phoenix. We'll get us a place to sleep downtown near the interstate." 

Paige nodded. She rolled her head away from facing Piper and looked out the passenger side of the car. The night stretched beyond her vision. Paige tried to imagine the end of the blackness. She gave up after only seconds, realizing it was as hard as trying to imagine the end of the universe. 

Paige stretched her legs out as far as she could. She could feel the sleep wearing off as she let out a loud yawn. She could hear Piper giggle next to her. She was surprised that Piper was still alert. After six hours of driving, she had happily turned the wheel over to Piper. Paige had fallen asleep after two hours of conversation and static-filled radio stations. The last thing she remembered was Piper's hand on hers. 

"Think we can eat something after we check in and change into something warmer?" Paige couldn't believe she felt so fatigued. 

"Of course. I was thinking some serious Margaritas. Maybe some authentic Tex-Mex." 

Paige looked at Piper with a scowl. She couldn't believe that Piper would be so insensitive. She continued to look at Piper as Piper glanced from the road to Paige's eyes several times. 

"What, Paige? I'm talking about virgin Margaritas…for both of us. After the last time I got drunk, I learned a very valuable lesson." 

"What, that drinking solves nothing?" 

"No, that if I drink and get a hangover then I'll have to drink one of your nasty hangover concoctions." 

All seriousness left Paige's mind as she laughed, "Funny. Very funny. And I have to say that I don't think you can get 'authentic' Tex-Mex here." 

"Why not?" 

"Because we're in Arizona, not Texas." 

"Whatever." 

The Atlanta hotel room was silent with the exception of the thrashing of sheets. The illumination from the red numbers on the bedside clock showed the fear on Phoebe's face. She clinched the sheets in her fists and let out a barely audible whimper. 

Phoebe could see Paige. She was close enough to touch her and yet when Phoebe stretched out her arms to wrap them around her shaking sister. Nothing happened. She was merely a spectator in the dream. Not a participant in the events. 

They were in a one-room shack. Worn and malodorous, the shack was void of all but Paige. Phoebe flinched as her little sister banged on the door and cut her hand on the already shattered windowpane. Bars on the window prevented her from getting out. Phoebe cried as Paige sank to her knees in prayer. 

"Why doesn't she orb out?" Phoebe wondered to herself. 

She took note of Paige's clothing. They were the same as in the dream before, but not as torn. She studied Paige's face and saw that her eyes were filled with not just fear, but shame, and resignation. Just as Phoebe was trying to reach out to Paige, she was pulled into a black abyss. 

She sat straight up in the hotel bed and realized that the phone was ringing. She clumsily fought through the tangle of sheets to get the phone. It was 11:30pm in Atlanta. She knew that Piper and Paige had had enough time to get to Phoenix. 

Jack Bijou's car, a red 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee was parked on a narrow, rut-filled, dirt road far away from the main roads of New Orleans. Nearby the faint sound of footsteps fell throughout the woods. Water splashed as the footsteps left solid ground in favor of the dank swamp. 

Jack was terrified by the sounds around him. The various swamp creatures barked and beseeched him with their squeals to venture no further into the darkness. He pushed the fears of gators and snakes to the back of his mind. A flash of his blood covered hands from earlier that morning swept across his thoughts. Somehow, he knew he was far more dangerous than the Bayou wildlife. 

He came upon an old shack in the woods. The pirogue he had found himself floating in on two consecutive mornings sat in the water, beckoning him to board its creaking wood with another victim. He knew the shack was abandoned and let himself in. It was one-room with nothing in it, just dust, bugs, and a few frogs. As he looked down at a large species of frog it jumped toward him. Unexplainably his heartbeat quickened and he could feel himself growl. A pain shot through his hand, and up his arm. He looked down and peered through the shadows to find the source of the ache. His hand was changing. It was morphing into a fur-covered, claw-carrying thing. 

Jack had no time to react to his transition. His world turned to black and the last thing he heard before hitting the floor, was a low, hungry howl he could have sworn came from his own throat. 

Piper could tell that Phoebe was upset the minute she heard her voice pick up on the other end of the line. 

"Phoebe? Are you okay?" 

"Not really, Piper. I can tell you that I'm extremely glad to hear your voice." 

"Have another bad dream?" 

Paige turned an interested ear to Piper's conversation and Piper took notice of her sister's curiosity. 

"It's awful, Piper. Paige is with you and she's fine, right?" 

"With me? Yes. Fine? I'm not so sure." Piper looked as Paige shuffled through some of her clothes in a duffel bag. She finally pulled out a dark pair of jeans. Piper could tell her youngest sister's every movement was a challenge. Before Phoebe could worry further, Piper added, "I think we're both road weary." 

"I know they're just dreams, Piper, but there's something to them. I can't tell you about them right now because I don't want Paige to know anything about them, but if you get a minute alone call me. Like when she's in the shower in the morning or something." 

"Okay. Get some rest Pheebs. We'll see you in a couple of days and we'll call as we're pulling out in the morning." 

"Okay, love you." 

"Love you, too. 

Piper hung up the phone and dug through her own bag. Paige's voice was one of child-like amusement as it interrupted Piper's worries. 

"Did you know that Phoenix is the sixth largest city in the United States?" 

Piper looked at Paige with curiosity, "Is that right?" 

"Absolutely," Paige continued as she pulled on a pair of ranch boots. "There are 1.3 million people here." 

Piper slid on a long-sleeve close-fitting T-shirt as she eyed her youngest sister with amusement. 

"Paige? How do you know the things you know?" 

Piper thought she saw hesitation in Paige's eyes as Paige reached for an answer, "Um…I've read a lot. It keeps me from thinking too much." 

"And what is it you don't want to think about?" 

Paige, still slightly fatigued from their trip, sat on the foot of the double bed, "This place could be worse, couldn't it?" 

Piper took her evasion of an answer as an 'ask her later' sign and glanced around the shabby motel room. She considered she and Paige lucky that they had a bathroom that worked and weren't sharing their one bed with the roaches. 

"I'm not sure it could be worse, Paige." 

Paige shrugged in agreement, "I guess, but at least there's no chalk outline on the floor of a murder victim. 

Piper grinned and in an attempt at humor, lifted the bed skirt and looked beneath the bed. She looked at

Paige with a satisfied smirk, "Never hurts to be sure, right?" 

Piper sat next to Paige on the bed. Paige fell backwards and stared up at the ceiling. Each crack ran from a central point. Paige stared at the central point curious as to why certain things cause faults elsewhere. Paige began to compare her life to the cracks in the ceiling. Years ago, one thing happened and along the way it caused tiny fissures and fault lines in Paige's life. 

"Paige? Are you okay?" 

Paige blinked and realized that Piper was standing over her, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." 

"Right. I don't believe you." Piper could see the lost look in Paige's eyes and searched upwards toward the ceiling. She found nothing of interest there besides some horribly nasty lines that needed some caulk or patchwork. 

"Help me up, Piper." 

Piper gladly took Paige's hand and pulled her off the bed. In an unexpected motion she pulled Paige into her arms and held her tightly in a hug. Paige was taken back by the gesture, but hugged Piper in return. They remained that way, quietly, before Paige broke the hug and grabbed a brush from her bag. Piper ran her fingers through her own hair in front of the mirror above the dresser. 

Paige joined Piper to stare at her reflection in the mirror and to brush her hair. She studied the new copper color she was sporting. She had decided change was good two weeks earlier and had gotten her long locks trimmed into a shoulder-length bob and then asked the stylist to color her hair. 

She frowned slightly as she caught a glimpse of Piper's dark hair in the mirror. It had really been the only physical thing that she had in common with her sisters. The color of their hair. Dark brown. 

"I love your hair that color, Paige." 

Paige smiled at Piper and cocked her head to one side, "Really?" 

"Yeah, it makes you look younger and, I don't know, more alive." 

"Yeah?" 

"Yeah. And you know what…we have more physical traits in common than just our hair." 

Piper grabbed her purse and her room key and headed toward the door. She looked back at Paige. Paige was standing, brush in hand, trying to figure out if her mind had been read or if she had been talking out loud. 

"Are you coming? I'm starved." 

"Piper? How did you…?" 

"What? Know what you were thinking? It's the same thing I've wondered about myself for years in comparison to Prue and Phoebe. What, besides hair color, do we have in common?" 

"Oh." 

"Remind me to tell you a secret someday." 

"What secret?" 

"I said someday. Right now we must eat." 

"Okay. Let's go get some non-Tex-Mex, Tex-Mex." 

Paige walked past Piper and into the parking lot. Piper followed more curious than ever to know what was going on in Paige's mind. 

Red eyes, like rubies on fire, pierced through the humid Bayou darkness. Breathing, low and angry, shattered the hush that was rare to the swamps. Large feet broke free of the jungle overgrowth and padded onto the dirt road. Fur curled at the toes. The body of the beast was covered in a matted black pelt. Beneath the ruby red eyes, a long snout took in the various smells of the atmosphere. A deep snarl broke from the beast's fang-entangled mouth. He was on a hunt. The sweet scent of coppery blood flooded his nostrils. 

Beneath the animal façade, an intelligent mind planned and plotted its next kill. 

The map was spread out on the restaurant table. An empty basket of chips and salsa sat between their glasses of virgin margaritas. Piper and Paige, each studied the map, looking for points of interest along the route of their spontaneous endeavor. 

"So, I think we should leave I-10 after Van Horn, Texas and take I-20 all the way into Atlanta. It'll be faster, less out-of-the-way." Piper waited for a response from Paige. 

"It would be faster, but isn't the point of this trip to bond and have fun doing so?" 

"Alright," Piper's patience was wearing thin as her tiredness began to grow, "What do you suggest?" 

"I think we should take I-10 to Fort Stockton, tomorrow. That's like what, maybe an 11-hour drive? Then the next day we drive for 13 hours and spend a day or two in New Orleans." 

"Paige, can we handle that much driving?" 

"No, but it IS New Orleans, Piper." 

Tales of the city had always intrigued Piper, "Fine. We'll do it your way. But I want to see if Phoebe will meet up with us there. Maybe she can use her plane ticket to get to New Orleans." 

"Sounds perfect. But…" 

Piper noted the look of uncertainty that crossed Paige's pale face. 

"But what, Paige?" 

"I…um…I think we should…maybe before Phoebe gets there we can…" 

"Paige? What is it?" Piper was surprised by the amount of obvious worry that crept into her own voice. And in an involuntary act she took her little sister's hand. She realized she had been doing that a lot on this trip. Paige allowed her hand to be held. 

"Do you think we can talk before we get there?" 

"We can talk now. What's on your mind?" 

"I mean, I want to talk to you about something, but I want you to talk to me too, about Leo and what's going on with you guys." 

Piper smiled a tender smile and looked down at the map, "I feel bad Paige. I haven't even thought of Leo since we left San Francisco." 

Piper read Paige's look of concern and gave the youngest another smile to reassure her. 

"I don't know Paige, it's like I feel free. I know that sounds horrible, but there has been so much yelling, and tension, and anger since we found out that I can't have children." 

"He still loves you." 

"I know that. I really do, Paige, but somewhere in my heart I feel like something is wrong. Like he doesn't realize that a part of what brought us together, my knowledge of the future or the future we once saw, is now wrong and that future will never be." 

"But you can have a different future, Piper, a good future." 

"A good one, perhaps, but never a complete one. I fell in love with Melinda when I saw her in the future. I've wanted nothing but that little girl. Leo has wanted that baby as much as I have. And now that's dashed. He says my destiny took away our child." 

"Piper, I'm sure he didn't mean it like that." 

"It doesn't matter how he means it, Paige. It's the truth. Our destiny, the Power of Three, is not a nurturing environment for children, or relationships." 

"But you would never have known Leo if it weren't for the Power of Three, Piper." 

Piper nodded, pushing back a tear that dared to tread near the eye's surface. She swallowed and realized her mouth had become dry, most likely from the margarita salt. 

"Paige, I wish I could explain myself clearly. It's all just so jumbled around inside. It's like…I think about Leo and our marriage and I can't breathe. At first, before the doctors told us about not being able to have children, the not being able to breathe was because I was so in love it hurt. Now the not being able to breathe is from suffocation. Every time I see Leo's sad eyes, it reminds me that there will be thousands of days to come that our child will never exist. Days that will be filled with regret, and with pain, and with those sad eyes." 

Piper was surprised to see a tear roll down Paige's cheek. 

"Why are you crying? I'm the one who's supposed to be boo-hooing here." 

"I know, but you and Leo are my super couple. If you guys aren't together, then there's no hope for people like me." 

"People like you?" 

"Yeah." 

Paige looked away from Piper's interrogating eyes and toward the bar. She watched as drink after drink was poured to a rowdy group of college kids. Her mind began to rumble with the sound of heavy hitting metal music. Fuzzy and twisted, the noise worked its way out. She looked again at Piper and remembered she was no longer in the time that heavy metal reigned. She was not trapped by that sound any longer, she was not in that place. A moment of fear was followed by a moment of relief and then fear rose again as Piper pushed further with questions. 

"What do you mean by people like you, Paige?" 

Paige thought she was ready to talk, but the actual idea of saying out loud that which she had held secret for so long terrified her. 

"Can we go back to the room now? I'm really tired." Paige's voice was soft, like a whispered prayer. 

Piper nodded, taken back by the wall that Paige had suddenly put up and by the sudden appearance of Paige's vulnerability. Piper paid the check and followed her copper-haired sister outside. As they walked to the convertible, several college boys approached them, each holding their very own bottle of Jack Daniels. Piper's stomach turned and knots formed as she saw Paige's hands shaking violently by her sides. 

The boys were laughing and the air around them reeked of alcohol. Piper remained as calm as she could, but the fear she saw in Paige's eyes prevented that calm from taking the lead. One of the boys stepped up to Piper. Piper rapidly began to despise her petite stature. The boy towered over her. She figured him to be about 20 years old. 

"What's your name, sweetheart?" 

Piper rolled her eyes and flashed the boy and his friends her left hand. Her wedding band shined in the dull light of the street lamps. The speaker of the pack grinned. Piper could tell he would be cute if not for the bloodshot eyes, horrible stench, messed up hair, and lustful demeanor. 

"Awww, hell guys, this one's married. Aren't you a little too young to be married?" 

Piper smirked and then looked at Paige. Paige was still shaking, but had managed to make eye contact with a few of the boys. Piper was relieved to see that the Paige with enough attitude to take out the mafia was coming alive. Piper barely heard the boy ask the question again. 

"If you think 29 is too young to be married then sure. Whatever you say." 

A different boy pushed to the front of the group of six. Piper stared him down. 

"She's a smart ass isn't she, Tommy?" 

"I'd say so." The original speaker's voice was calm, not as aggressive as he first was. Piper took note that his name was Tommy. 

Another boy spoke, "What about the quiet one. She's not wearing a ring. Bet she'd like a boyfriend." 

Piper thought she could actually see Paige's heart skip a beat in the pulsing artery of her neck. She knew she could see the color drain from her face. She knew they needed to leave before the situation got out of hand. Piper was ready to raise her hands and freeze the annoying college men when the door to the restaurant flung open and several more groups of college students poured out, yelling and laughing. 

The group surrounding Piper and Paige began to walk toward the new swarm of hormone-driven, alcohol-laden individuals, leaving Piper and Paige alone. Piper chuckled in relief. 

"They always leave you for the younger ones, huh?" 

She laughed at her own joke before realizing that Paige had not said one word since they had walked out of the restaurant. 

"Paige? Are you okay?" 

Paige swallowed hard, and stared past Piper as though looking at someone else. Piper looked behind her and saw no one. She then turned to Paige and it dawned on her that Paige's eyes were shimmering with tears. 

Paige could hear the whine of the heavy metal lead guitar that played continuously in her head. Voices appeared from nowhere and blurred into the sound of the music only Paige could hear. Time skipped backwards for her and she found herself among a rowdy crowd of people thrashing to the music, some might say dancing. Smoke clung to every air particle and Paige inhaled deeply. She heard a heartbeat thumping in her ears. She discovered that it was the sound of her own racing heart. Dizzy. So dizzy. Cloudy, loud, crowded, nauseous, powerless, afraid. Mostly afraid. 

"Paige?" 

Piper's voice snapped Paige back into the silent, dark parking lot in Phoenix, Arizona. Paige could feel her knees begin to buckle. She was going to fall. She felt relieved and foolish when Piper's arm wrapped around her waist, and Piper's voice reaching her ears, pleading to know what happened. 

"I froze." Her words were muttered through trembling lips. 


	3. Chapter 3

After talking to Piper, Phoebe had turned on the television set in her hotel room. CNN blared at her and she took comfort in the dull voice of the anchor. She only half-listened to the reporter as she thought of Paige and Piper. She knew something was going on with them. She knew that Piper and Leo were fighting constantly, but what she hadn't given much thought to, was Paige's slow withdrawal from them. She hadn't even realized it until she began to carefully review every minute she had spent with Piper and Paige since they had decided to go on with their destiny. 

Phoebe shifted her thought stream to that of the beast in her nightmares. How were the beast and Paige connected? What was the beast? The questions swam in Phoebe's mind and she knew she needed the Book of Shadows. She thought about calling Leo and having him orb her to Piper and Paige. She gave it a second-thought and decided not to call upon Leo for two reasons: he and Piper were fighting and she knew in her heart that Paige and Piper needed some time together, alone. 

Phoebe sighed in frustration as she chose to wait for Piper's phone call the next morning to make any decisions. 

New Orleans smelled of bourbon. The summer party crowds were spilling over in the streets. Every bar was loud and obnoxious, every street filled with one partygoer or another. 

Saree, pronounced say-ree, Lacroix sat in a relatively quiet bar with her friends, other girls her age who had gone away to college and who had come home to tell the war stories of how they had just survived their freshman year. Saree's eyes filled with delight as a guy she knew from high school stopped at their table. John Lucas wanted to tell them a tall-tale of the Cajun swamps and Saree and her friends, out for a night of fun and misadventure wanted to know the legend. She loved to hear the stories of various swamp creatures long spun into elaborate tales of terror and amusement. Tonight, she rested back in her seat as John began to speak. 

"Legend has it, that during the ten days surrounding the full moon, a beast, born into a curse, comes alive. This beast doesn't start out as horrible as he is. He realizes in time that he is what he is. He actually starts off as a handsome, charming young man. And with increasing fervor, the beast within comes to the surface at nights." 

One of Saree's friends was too impatient for the details, "Is this a werewolf story?" 

John rolled his eyes in mock intolerance, "This is so much more than a werewolf…this is the Loup Garou." 

Saree looked to the faces of her friends and knew John had them hooked on his story. 

"So this Loup Garou, he's awful, absolutely horrifying. He stinks too. Hair covers his body, and it has a snout like a werewolf, but its mission is different. The Loup Garou is not just out to kill, it's out to mate." 

Saree couldn't help but interrupt, "Sounds like most men we know, John." 

John smiled, but continued, "The story goes that the Loup Garou hunts for a woman, beautiful outside, beautiful inside. He hunts her down and then, if he thinks her suitable he drags her back to his shed in the bayou to either mate with her if he thinks it will result in procreation, or to kill her for food. The Loup Garou is immune to the normal silver bullet extermination method. And it knows little fear of its own." 

"How does it find its victims?" Another of Saree's friends spoke up. 

"No one's sure of his M-O. All anyone knows is that if you're taken by the Loup Garou, chances are you won't escape, and if you do…the swamp will kill you, because no woman can make it out of there at night, alone." 

"Loup Garou, eh? Sounds like a load of shit to me. Why don't you buy us a round of drinks, John, to make up for that lame story?" 

John stuck his tongue out at Melanie and raised a hand up into the air while looking at a waiter. He turned back to the girls as he stood to leave. 

"There is one thing that might help you if you're ever caught by the Loup Garou." 

"Yeah, what's that?" Saree asked, already knowing the answer. 

"A frog. The Loup Garou is terrified of frogs." 

John Lucas walked away from Saree Lacroix and her friends. Behind him, fits of giggles rang in his ears. 

XXXXXXX

Piper opened the door of the motel room. The unpleasant smell of mildew assaulted her as she turned to wait for Paige to enter the room before closing, and locking, the door behind them. Paige immediately went to the bathroom. Piper sighed in consternation as she pulled her pajama bottoms and a short sleeve T-shirt out of her bag. She could hear the sink being turned on and water running. She knew Paige was doing her nightly routine of brushing her teeth, washing her face and pulling her hair up in a ponytail. Piper smiled when she realized that Paige pulled her hair up out of habit more than necessity. Her hair was short enough now that it stayed out of her face, mostly. 

Piper sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the ancient remote control to the old television set on the dresser. An image finally zapped into view. She figured it was the local news. She changed the channels and was pleasantly surprised to discover the room came with cable. A howl came from the small internal speaker of the old set and Piper smiled as a black and white movie, complete with the crackle and pop of an old worn out reel of film, came on the screen. Piper turned the volume down slightly and looked toward the bathroom door. The water had stopped. 

She couldn't imagine what Paige had been so scared of in the parking lot of the restaurant. She knew that the guys were potentially dangerous, but they both knew that with their powers there would be no contest. She understood that whatever had made Paige freeze up like she did was as painful as her parents' death. Piper made the analogy based on her remembrance of the way Paige had frozen when she saw a car explode into fire. 

Piper couldn't help but feel as though she and Phoebe didn't know Paige at all. "At least," she thought, "we don't know what's under that tough-girl act." 

She stood when she heard Paige open the bathroom door after what seemed like forever. Glancing at the alarm clock on the nightstand, Piper saw it had only been ten minutes since they'd been back to the motel room. She took a long look at Paige's face. It was paler than normal due to the total lack of makeup on her face. Her copper hair was pulled back just as Piper knew it would be. She looked so small to Piper as she sat against the headboard, pillow behind her back, knees drawn to chest, squinting at the television. She was wearing black gym shorts and a long-sleeve t-shirt. The sleeves covered her still shaking hands. 

As she sat next to the youngest sister, Piper placed the back of her hand against Paige's cheek, as though feeling for a fever. "You feeling any better?" 

Paige shrugged not knowing what to say. She was still trembling from the mini-flashbacks she'd been having. She stared at the black and white movie and had she not been drowning in a sea of angry memories, the absurdity of the werewolf-costume would have made her laugh. She looked down at her hands that were mixed in the white cotton sleeves of her shirt. They had somehow become interlocked with one another, squeezing so tightly that it made her knuckles purple. She released her hands and studied the backs of them. 

She looked into Piper's eyes and was thankful and scared to see so much love and worry in them. Paige cleared her throat. 

"I don't know where to begin." 

"Why don't you start at the beginning?" 

Paige smiled softly and looked again at her hands. The metal music, sounds of Korn, circa 1994, raided Paige's mind as she tried to sort out the present from the past. She laid her chin on her knees and wrapped her arms tightly around her legs. Balled up, she felt safer. The music grew louder as she searched for the words to explain to Piper what had happened to her after her parents had died. 

_Another place I find to escape the pain inside  
You don't know the chances. What if I should die?!  
A place inside my brain, another kind of pain  
You don't know the chances. I'm so blind!_

Phoebe turned off the television and closed her eyes to sleep. As soon as her lids lowered she was pulled into the chaotic black and white world of premonitions. She shuddered and screamed out as she saw a girl she did not recognize being pulled from a cobblestone street by the monster that had been invading her sleep. 

She snapped out of the premonition feeling awful for the girl, knowing there wasn't a way that any of them could get to her in time. She couldn't even tell where the girl was, much less when it would occur, or if it had occurred already. She picked up the phone, intent on calling Piper and Paige. She glanced at the clock and noted that with the three-hour time difference, it would be nearing 11pm in Phoenix. 

As her hand touched the phone she was struck with a feeling. It was not a premonition but merely a feeling. Phoebe knew that she couldn't call Piper and Paige. She knew that something very important was happening with them, and she knew she could not disturb them. She got out of the bed, turning the television on again. She pulled out shorts and a T-shirt from her suitcase and laid them out on the bed. She would meet her sisters as soon as possible, wherever possible. 

Saree Lacroix walked alone. The New Orleans night sweltered in fumes of heat and humidity. Her skin was slick with perspiration and her mind was buzzing with bourbon. She was happy to be home. As she walked she stumbled slightly over her own feet as her black clogs bobbled over the cobblestone street. She smiled as a group of equally intoxicated girls passed by laughing and talking loudly. 

She turned down another darker, empty cobblestone street. Had she not been feeling so uninhibited from the liquor she drank, she might have been afraid to walk alone. She twirled her keys in her hand. The sound jingling reminded Saree of a song she once heard. She began to whistle the tune and was unaware of the sound behind her. Slowly her whistling subsided and she became painfully aware of the growling. She turned slowly and came face to face with something she knew only in legends. The Loup Garou. She knew this beast before her was the creature she had been told about in so many ways, so many times throughout her life. 

She had no time to run as the beast grabbed her arm with lightning speed and pulled her into the darkness of the night. She screamed and fought along the way, with prayer as her only hope of survival. 

"Paige, sweetie, what is it? Please tell me." 

Paige nodded her head. Tears weren't falling. But her confidence and bravery were. She inhaled a deep, soothing breath and blocked out the visible memories as she began to speak. 

"After my parents died, I was pretty messed up. I blamed myself for their deaths. I mean, I know differently now, thanks to you and Phoebe, but then, I blamed myself. I wasn't acting destructively, but I started hanging out with a pretty crazy crowd my first year of college. They were a little older than me, and they were rich, popular kids who smoked pot, snorted coke, and drank excessively. I was an orphan on student loans." 

Piper suddenly understood the uneasiness that Paige must have been feeling at the restaurant with the university students doing shots and laughing it up at the bar. 

"I didn't try any of the drugs, and I wasn't into the drinking." She paused, "I know, I'm in AA right, and I was a troubled kid, but it wasn't my parents' death that sent me into rehab. I became an alcoholic later." 

Paige watched as Piper's brow creased in interest. 

"One night during the summer after my freshman year, I went to a party off-campus with these people. I usually had fun listening to their stories of mansions in Malibu and condos in France. They were unreal, like something off of TV. Anyway, we went to this party. It was a great party. Loud, obnoxious metal music blaring out of every speaker in the house. People were laughing and drinking everywhere. And these so-called friends of mine…they were inhaling the little white lines like they were candy. 

They kept asking me to do a line and I kept refusing it. I had no interest in cocaine. But this one guy, Ben, he said he'd give me $500 if I'd do one line. He showed me the cash and everyone around him was cheering me on. I was a poor kid with no parents and no real friends. The five hundred was food for several months, or books for the fall semester. So I quickly weighed my options…one morning with a hangover versus two months with no food. I turned down the $500, and walked away from Ben." 

Paige could feel the tears threatening to burn the rims of her eyes. She could feel Piper's hands on her back and on her arms. She relished the comfort but she wondered when Piper would pull away from her in horror. 

Piper was mildly surprised that her youngest sister had ever been tempted to try cocaine, but she knew that it was a hard time in Paige's life and she was more than proud that Paige had walked away. She couldn't imagine what details could follow, but she waited silently, patiently, in full support-mode. 

"So you skipped on the cocaine." 

"Yeah, but later I began to feel weird. See, Ben passed me a piece of paper and as soon as I laid it down, I began to feel strange. Everything was out of shape and blurry. Ben whispered in my ear that the paper was LSD. Skin-absorbent. I was angry and I was hallucinating. It was hard to tell what was real and what wasn't. I kept feeling hands on me, leading me in different directions. Before I knew it I was alone in the basement of the house. It was a fully finished basement, complete with bedrooms and an entertainment room. I was tripping over everything because the drug on the envelope gave me tunnel vision. I sat on a couch in front of this huge TV. I tried to regain composure but it didn't work. I heard a voice next to me and when I turned to see who it was, it was Ben. He had set it all up. The drugs, the being alone. All I could hear was that damn metal music." 

Piper pulled Paige closer to her. She could feel Paige resisting the comfort, but not pulling away completely. Paige still had her arms wrapped around her legs as she leaned into Piper. She could feel Piper's chin resting on the top of her head. 

"Ben hurt me." 

"What do you mean?" 

As tears fell silently down her cheeks, Paige continued in a whisper, "He threw me on the floor. He hit me and then he attacked me." 

"He raped you?" 

Piper's heart sank as she felt Paige nod yes. Everything made sense to Piper finally. The tough-girl, comedienne act, Paige's need to protect and save them at all costs, the always beneath the surface vulnerability. It all made sense. 

"It was bad Piper. It was so bad. Even with the drugs I could feel everything about it. He was very violent and I felt like I was going to be torn in half." 

Paige's crying deepened into shuddering as she relived her most horrifying moments. As one image after another flashed into her mind she wrapped her arms around Piper's waist and held on as though her life depended on it. She was more than relieved to feel Piper holding on to her just as tightly. Piper kissed Paige on top of the head. 

"That's not the end, Piper. When Ben was done with me he pulled out a knife. He said he was going to kill me. Then another guy came in the room. Ben saw him and smiled at him. I thought they knew each other and I thought this guy was going to do what Ben had done, I was so scared and I started screaming. But he took one look at me, at my torn clothes and bleeding lip and punched Ben. They started fighting, so I crawled into a corner. I was still reeling from what Ben had just done to me. I was hurting and I was feeling sick from the drugs. But I looked up in time to see this guy strangling Ben." 

"What?" Piper knew what she heard but she had to be sure. 

"He killed Ben, and I watched him do it. I was glad that he did it, Piper. I can't believe that I watched a person being murdered and I had no remorse about it. I even had Ben's knife in my hand ready to kill him myself if this stranger didn't." 

"Paige, I would have felt the same way, sweetie. It's okay. It's okay." She ran her hand up and down Paige's back as she rocked her back and forth. Paige's crying quieted enough for her to finish telling Piper the story. 

"The guy, after Ben fell to the floor, looked at me and he smiled. It wasn't a psychotic smile or anything. It was like he was being sympathetic. I don't know. He picked Ben up over his shoulder and walked out of the room. And I never heard anything about it again." 

"Did you go to the police?" 

"No. I was too scared. And I wasn't thinking. Soon after that I started drinking to forget everything. The attack, the murder. It wasn't until I got help in AA that I began to not think about it a lot. But last week the nightmares started again, the flashbacks, the feeling that I can't keep anyone safe enough." 

"It's the anniversary of when it happened isn't it?" 

Paige nodded and again Piper felt it under her chin. 

"Okay. Well, you're not alone with this anymore Paige. You have me...and Phoebe. I love you very much, and I know Phoebe does too." 

Piper was taken aback when Paige began to cry harder. 

"What is it, Paige? Did I say something wrong?" 

Paige spoke through her tears, "That's the first time you've ever said that you love me." 

"It is?" 

"Yes." 

"Well, I should have said it long before now." 

Piper and Paige remained interlocked, Piper rocking Paige back and forth until she was asleep. Piper remained in place until dawn began to break through the sky. She was afraid to let go of her little sister, terrified that there had ever been the possibility that Paige could have died before they met. 

Jack Bijou's lips felt like dried winter-fallen leaves. His eyes were heavy and his head ached. He slowly, without opening his eyes lifted his hand to the back of his head and felt a large knot there. Sighing he dropped his hand down and was surprised to feel something that he knew was not his own body. 

The previous few mornings flooded his memory as his eyes fluttered open. Jack trembled at the sight before him. In the mornings before, he had woken up only to the sight of blood and clothing. However, as the morning humidity began to smother the slight breeze that wandered around a giant bald cypress tree, Jack was smothered by the realization that in his arms he cradled a lifeless body. 

He quickly scrambled to his feet and pushed the body away from him. He took in the image of the long blonde hair and the pale skin that shimmered like wax. The shape of the body told Jack that it was a woman. Jack knew without turning her over to see her face that she was dead. 

He dropped to his knees and searched the sky for an answer. Coagulated blood felt like syrup on his hands and on his clothes. He couldn't remember the previous night. The only thing he could recollect was being at the old shack where he had tied the boat up on the previous mornings. 

The boat? The thought crossed his mind and he surveyed his surroundings. There was no boat in sight. He was on solid land and not in the middle of the swamps. It was an odd change in the already abnormal events of his week. He breathed in deeply trying not to gag on the stench of blood. He knew he had to see her face. 

He let his hand linger at her shoulder before gently placing his hand on her skin. It was cold and clammy and the thought that warmth had once pulsed through this girls' skin made Jack tremble in fear and in complete remorse. There was no way that he couldn't have killed her. Jack thought about the blood, the body. The proof was insurmountable. But in his heart and soul, Jack knew that consciously, he had never killed anyone who didn't deserve to die. 

With that another memory came to his mind. A girl that was young, innocent, and crying for her life. Brown eyes like a wounded doe. Dark, chestnut-brown hair, hiding her face, but not her terror. A throat, its pulse burning in his hands, then silence. Just the beat of a bass-line somewhere from above. 

He wouldn't hurt an innocent person. 


	4. Chapter 4

The playback of Paige's tearful confession the night before, bombarded Piper's thoughts as she turned off the water in the shower. The crick in her neck was painful but worthy. She had barely slept, almost terrified that if she closed her eyes, Paige would disappear. It had taken all the courage Piper had to slip away from her heavily sleeping baby sister and move into the bathroom. Once in the shower she had barely relaxed as the hot water eased the tension in her neck and shoulders. 

As she dried off after stepping out of the shower, she heard a small cry. She knew immediately that Paige was waking from a nightmare. Piper quickly ran from the bathroom and to the bed where she sat, wrapped in an oversized towel, and placed a hand on Paige's cheek. She was surprised when Paige flinched but felt a little better when Paige relaxed into her embrace. 

Piper remained still as Paige's breathing slowed and her heart stopped racing. After a few minutes, Piper finally let go of Paige and looked her in the eyes. Paige avoided Piper's gaze as long as she could, but with red-rimmed, tired eyes she finally met Piper's stare. In those eyes Piper read a million and one things. 

Piper ran her hand over Paige's hair, smoothing down a few stray copper strands. 

"No matter what you might be thinking right now, Paige, you are not now and never again will be alone." 

Paige flashed one of her quick smiles and grabbed Piper's hand holding it tightly. 

"Last night…before I fell asleep. I forgot to say something to you." 

Piper's confusion went unmasked as she shrugged her shoulders. 

Paige continued, "I forgot to tell you that I love you too." 

Piper smiled and a warmth she was so very familiar with rose in her heart, the warmth that only sisterhood brings. 

"Paige, it is now an official family rule that none of us will ever go without hearing those words again." 

Paige lifted an eyebrow and nodded, "Good rule." 

Piper nodded, "Yes it is, now, why don't you get in the shower and I will dry my hair. Then we'll call Phoebe, get the car packed up again and hit the road." 

Paige glanced at the clock radio on the bedside table, "I never knew I'd be so happy at 7am." 

Paige gathered her things to go into the bathroom. She stopped before closing the door. 

"Hey Piper?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Do you think Phoebe will think bad of me, because of what we talked about?" 

Piper absorbed the image of Paige's face. It was heartrending the amount of vulnerability that showed upon the youngest Halliwell's face. Piper could have sworn that Paige's lower lip trembled as she waited for Piper to answer. 

"Paige, honey. Phoebe would never think bad about you for anything, you know that?" 

"I guess. It's just that…with everything that happened with Cole, and me not liking him, and his being the Source and me getting to tell her 'I told you so' and him sort of, in weird demony-form being back…I just worry that maybe…well…that maybe she doesn't like me all that much any more." 

And with that Piper's heart tore. The voice emanating from Paige's lips was the voice of a lost teenager and not the 25 year-old standing in front of her. 

"Sweetie, that's not true at all. Phoebe loves you very much and she probably hasn't said it yet, but…I know for a fact that she is extremely thankful that you saved her life, and that you were there for her. We all know that if you hadn't been there to save us a few months ago, Paige, then Phoebe would still be the Source's wife, and she may not have survived that demon-child she was carrying. You went through a lot because of Cole and Phoebe's relationship and to be honest with you, I think Phoebe wonders sometimes if you like her." 

Piper knew she had taken Paige by surprise with that honest revelation. 

"Of course I like Phoebe…she's my sister, and my friend. I love her." 

"And that's exactly the way she feels about you, Paige." 

Piper silently congratulated herself. She was getting good at being the oldest. 

As though reading Piper's mind, Paige smiled, "You're getting very good at being the oldest." 

"I know. Now, go, go. We've got a lot of road to cover." 

Piper smiled as Paige shut the door. She heard the water turn on and turned her attention to the mirror. She ran her fingers through her wet hair and reached for the dryer. As she did, her cell phone rang. She knew it was Phoebe before she looked at the caller ID on the display. 

"Hey little sis." 

"Piper, hey." Phoebe's voice was rushed and almost frantic, "Listen and don't say anything. I can't take this anymore. I have to be with you guys and as soon as possible. I miss you and I'm extremely worried that something bad is going to happen to Paige. And I feel like we should all be together right now. And if these nightmares don't stop then I'll never sleep again. And I…" 

"Phoebe!?" 

"Sorry. Hi." 

"That's better. We have a lot to talk about in a very short amount of time, Pheebs. First of all, we want you to meet us sooner than in Atlanta as well. We plan on stopping in Fort Stockton tonight. It's about a 10-hour drive. Then we're going to go into New Orleans tomorrow night and we figured we could meet you there in New Orleans." 

"That's tomorrow Piper. I want to be with you guys today." 

"I would get Paige to orb to get you, but I don't know that her powers will work across country. She's barely mastered across San Francisco yet. Besides I don't want her to be alone." 

"What's wrong, Piper? I mean, I had this feeling last night that you and Paige needed some alone time together and that's why I didn't call last night when I so wanted to. So…did something happen? Is something wrong?" 

"Yes and no." Piper paused not sure how much Paige would want her to reveal. She finally decided that she would let Paige reveal her secret herself. 

"Hello? Piper? What is 'yes and no'?" 

"Sorry. Paige told me something, and I feel like she should tell you herself. I'll just tell you that she needs us, Phoebe. She needs us so much more than she ever let on." 

"Really?" 

"Yeah. And Pheebs? Have you ever told Paige that you love her?" 

Phoebe was quiet and Piper knew that she was trying to recall saying those words to their little sister. 

"Don't feel too bad, Phoebe, last night was the first time I ever said them to her." 

"Piper, what did she tell you?" 

"There was a very dark time in her life Phoebe. More dark than we know, beyond what she told us about her parents. And she'll have to tell you the rest. Just…when you see her, be sure you tell her exactly how you feel about her. She needs that right now, and so much more." 

"I will. Now, when can I meet up with you guys so I can wrap my arms around my sisters and know you're safe?" 

"Uhhh…hold on. Let me put on some clothes and get our map." 

Piper laid the phone on the nightstand. She quickly pulled on jean shorts, a white tank top and white tennis shoes. She grabbed the map from Paige's backpack and sat back on the bed. She picked up the phone. 

"Are you still there?" 

"Where else would I be?" 

Piper almost laughed at her sister's impatience but she was in a sad mood and had no desire to laugh. 

"Okay, I'm looking at the atlas and it seems like the best place for a direct flight airport would be…" 

"…San Antonio. I already booked the flight. Can you guys get there tonight?" 

"Phoebe, judging from the map that's almost a 16-hour-drive. I don't know if we can go that far with hardly any sleep." 

"I know, Piper, but do you think maybe you can?" 

Piper let out a small growl. Her sister's feelings weren't something she could ignore, because if Phoebe was being that adamant about getting to them, then she must really feel the need to be near them. 

"Fine. That would mean that Paige and I won't be getting to San Antonio until around one in the morning." 

"Just listen to the music really loud in the car, and talk a lot. Pretend you're at the club after a long night of demon-slaying." 

"Okay, okay. I get it. What time will your flight land?" 

"Around 6pm. I'll go ahead and get us a room. Call me every four hours until you get into San Antonio." 

"Yes ma'am. You bossy little…" Piper was interrupted by the sound of the bathroom door opening. She smiled at Paige as the youngest stepped from the bathroom already dressed in loose-fitting khaki drawstring pants and a white t-shirt. 

"Is that Phoebe?" Paige's voice was back to its normal, self-assured tone. The only difference was that now Piper knew what truths lay behind the flirty smile and Cheshire grin. 

"Yeah, you want to talk to her while I go into the bathroom and finish drying my hair?" 

Paige nodded and sat on the bed next to Piper. 

"Hey Pheebs, Paige wants to talk to you. You tell her what feat we have to accomplish today." 

Paige picked up the phone and looked perplexed as Piper got up and took her hair dryer into the bathroom. 

"Hey Pheebs. What is she talking about?" 

"Oh, well…you guys are going to drive 16 hours today." 

"Oh…we are?" 

"Yes, that way you can be with me in San Antonio tonight." 

Paige looked at the clock and calculated the miles on the map quickly, "Phoebe that's going to be late tonight." 

"I know and normally I wouldn't ask, but I have to see you guys as soon as possible and San Antonio is the one place I could get a direct flight to that I knew would be anywhere near your path." 

"Right. Well…I'm up for it, I'm zero for 10 on the sleep-much-meter. Hey, Pheebs, why the rush in needing to see us?" 

"Because I love you very much and I need to hug you to be sure you're okay." 

Paige had a sinking feeling in her heart, "Is this only because Piper told you what she and I talked about last night?" 

"No. All Piper said was that you told her something, and that you could be the one to tell me, which I have to add is really killing me on the curiosity and concern level, but I can wait until you're ready to confide in me. The truth is, Paige, I've been having bad dreams about you and I want you near me so I can see for myself that you're safe." 

"Oh. What kind of dreams?" 

"That can wait. In the meantime just know that I love you very much, Paige. More than you think or know. And I don't want anything to hurt you." 

Paige fought back the single tear building in the corner of her eye. She swallowed hard as she heard Piper's dryer turning off. 

"Are you still there?" 

"Huh? Oh yeah, Pheebs. Piper's done drying her hair. So I guess I should hurry up and finish packing up and start getting everything out to the car." 

"Okay, you guys just be careful, give each other a hug from me, and call me at lunch to let me know where you guys are and how you're doing, okay?" 

"Yeah, okay. You be careful too. And Phoebe…" 

"Yeah?" 

"I love you, too." 

Paige hung the phone up and wiped away the three tears that had followed the first. She was suddenly aware that Piper's hand was on her back and that she wasn't alone. She was happily not alone. 

The New Orleans Police Department was baffled. There were three missing girls including the one reported missing in the wee hours of the morning. None of them looked the same and the only similarity between the three of them was that they were college students. Detective Riland ran his hand across the five-o-clock shadow that slowly stretched across his chin. He had gone 36 hours without sleep. The afternoon was wearing him down and the calls from the missing girls' families were thinning his hope. The disappearances were only the most recent cases in a span of six years and none of the cases prior to the current ones were ever solved. 

Detective Riland had heard all the rumors and fear-induced frenzy about some strange, violent beast of the swamps. He couldn't believe that educated people could believe in such hocus-pocus. He watched as his chief stepped through the door shaking his head in frustration and sat in the chair across the desk from him. 

"Riland…what in the hell is happening to my town?" 

"Sir, we have a 19-year-old female, blonde hair, 5'5" tall, reported missing this morning by her mother. The mother says she was supposed to be…" 

"It was rhetorical, Riland. I know about the girl. I meant that I want answers and soon. I have three families very ill right now because their little girls are out there most likely dead and decomposing in our swamps. Now what in the hell are we gonna do about it?" 

"Chief Travis, I don't have one lead. All I know is that this most recent girl, Saree Lacroix, was with friends last night at a bar. She left alone and she never made it home." 

"That helps me not one damn bit now does it, Thomas?" 

Thomas Riland lowered his head and looked at his shiny black shoes. 

"No sir, it doesn't. Sir, don't you think I want to find these girls? Or at least find out what happened to them so that their families will have some closure?" 

It was the chief's turn to look at his shoes. Detective Riland frowned as he thought about pictures of the girls that plastered the command room that had been appointed solely for the purpose of finding these girls. In six years there had been 30 women missing in the same abrupt manner, all in the full moon that fell between July and August, all women finishing their first year of college. All beautiful, talented women, all presumed dead vanished without a trace. 

"Did you hear me, Riland?" 

Thomas jerked his eyes up from the picture of the chief's daughter hanging on the wall that he had been inadvertently staring at and met his commanding officer's gaze. 

"Sorry sir?" 

"I said I want you to find a connection to these girls. We have no DNA, no bodies, no evidence, I want a connection." 

"Yes sir." 

Thomas Riland left the chief's office and went back to his own cluttered mess of a desk. He sat in his chair and began to pile through the 30-odd folders in front of him. The answers were there somewhere. He would find them if it took his very last breath. 

Jack Bijou watched the 6 o'clock news with dread and sorrow. The face of a beautiful girl faded into view as the anchor's voice was the narrator in a tale to horrible to tell. 

"Tonight, a family keeps vigil in hopes that their daughter is still alive. Nineteen-year-old Saree Lacroix has been missing since 2am last night and is the third disappearance of a teenager this week. Expected to come home in the early hours of this morning, Saree left a local bar where she had been spending time with friends. She never made it to her parents' house." 

Jack's heart twisted as another picture flickered onto the screen. It was a smiling, happy girl wearing a graduation cap and gown. He knew that the girl was the body he had been holding when he woke up early that morning. 

"Saree Lacroix is a native of New Orleans and an active member in the community. She recently made Dean's list upon completing her first year of school at the University of Texas. Saree is studying to be a social worker." 

Jack couldn't take the picture any longer. He quickly turned off the television and walked to his bedroom. He tried to gather his thoughts but they were more astray than he could handle. He had left Saree's body not far from the road. He wanted her family to have peace of mind. But he didn't want to be caught. Jack was afraid, very afraid. He knew that if he turned himself in, he would be instantly charged and convicted, but he wasn't entirely sure he was the one who had killed Saree or what had even happened to the other two girls. 

Something in the news report he had just heard struck his mind. Saree had wanted to be a social worker. Another image from his past soared to the surface as a face, scared and hurt, stared up at him as its owner cowered in a corner. He knew she had something to do with the disappearances, with his current predicament. He knew that she was coming. 

Phoebe hauled her last suitcase off of the carry rack and into the hotel room. Cashing in her plane ticket to Los Angeles and trading it for a one way to San Antonio had left her with some extra money, so she took the opportunity to get the best room she could find for her sisters and herself. 

She turned on the television and began to watch CNN. The news had been occupying a lot of her downtime taking away her thoughts of Cole. But as she watched the TV her mind couldn't help but wander to the not so distant past. She knew that Cole wasn't out of their lives yet. He was still able to find them. Her heart no longer felt anything that resembled love for the man that had destroyed her and taken her away from her sisters. All her heart held for Cole Turner, aka Belthazor, aka The Source, was pure contempt, anger and hatred. 

She reflected on the facts of her life and knew that many things would have not and would have happened had Cole never been an issue. She knew for a fact that Prue would still be alive. But on the downside of that, if Prue had never died they never would have known Paige. As an image of her younger sister popped into her mind she couldn't imagine never knowing that smile, those eyes, or that heart. 

Phoebe laid her head down on a pillow and stared at the ceiling. She thought about how horrible she had been to Paige. Not believing her when she should have, not really being all there for her when she first came into the picture. Things were going to be different, Phoebe decided, and she would start with making sure her sisters were her number one priority. 

"Piper does it all the time," Phoebe whispered to no one. "Paige has never had to deal with sisters before and yet she put her entire life aside to make sure we were safe. If they can be that selfless then I should be too." 

Phoebe's ears caught the report on CNN before her eyes did. 

"Another girl is missing in New Orleans tonight. A massive search is ongoing for the missing, Saree Lacroix, last seen at this bar in the French Quarter." 

As scenes of New Orleans' French Quarter scanned across the screen, Phoebe's heart stopped. She immediately recognized the cobblestone street the reporter was standing on. It was the same street the girl in her premonition had been taken from. Her mind froze as a picture of Saree Lacroix was placed on the screen with a hotline number. It was the girl she had seen in her vision. 

"Oh, God." 

Paige laughed harder than she thought possible. Tears formed at both corners of her brown eyes as she snorted at the end of a deep giggle. The snort made her laugh even harder. As she watched Piper from across the table she grabbed her side. A stitch had formed from the deep laughter. 

"Stop, Piper! You're killing me! Don't cross your eyes anymore, they're gonna get stuck like that!" 

More laughter erupted from Paige as Piper continued to cross her eyes and make her face into the exact image of the character "Wanda" from the TV show, "In Living Color." 

"God, Piper, that is the ugliest thing I've ever seen! Stop." 

In an imitation of Jamie Fox's voice, Piper said, "That's fine, laugh if you must, I was gonna rock your world up in here." 

Some truckers sitting in the booth across the aisle from them began to laugh almost as much as Paige. It wasn't until Piper saw that they were watching them that she stopped distorting her face. She blushed as she shrugged her shoulders at the truckers and turned her attention to her still giggling sister. She was more than happy to see Paige in such light spirits. And she was proud of herself for getting her sister to laugh more than she had ever seen her laugh before. 

"Sorry, I get carried away with my imitations sometimes." 

"You should have your own show, Piper, seriously. I'd watch it." 

"Weird, I thought I did have my own show. Oh well…" 

Paige looked around the small diner and took in the different people. She couldn't believe she was in the middle of Texas. She had never been outside of San Francisco. As she watched a little boy and his dad sitting down to eat, she wondered for the first time in a long time about the problems normal, non-witchy people faced. 

She turned her attention again to her oldest sister and smiled. She hoped Piper wouldn't make that face again, because she knew her stomach muscles couldn't handle much more laughter. She saw vivacity in Piper's eyes that she hadn't seen in the one year of being their sister. She enjoyed seeing Piper happy, but wondered if the sparkle in her eyes wasn't merely a cover to the pain she was feeling about Leo, and about not having a baby. She didn't want to bring Piper down and she hated to take the conversation into a more serious area, but curiosity was getting to her. She decided to get into the weightiness in a roundabout way. 

"Hey Piper…why don't you tell me that secret now?" 

"What secret?" 

"Last night you told me to remind you to tell me a secret someday. Can I know, now?" 

Piper smiled and Paige was reassured by it. 

"Yes, you can know now. Put your hands on the table." 

Paige regarded Piper with a skeptical glance before slowly placing her hands on the table. She waited patiently as Piper placed her hands tip to tip with Paige's. 

"That's the secret." 

Paige raised her eyebrows in uncertainty, not sure of what Piper was telling her. 

"Paige, last night I told you that we had more physical traits in common than our hair. It's our hands. Look at them. They are almost identical." 

Paige looked again at their hands and noticed that the length of their fingers, the lines on the back of the hand and the size of their hands were almost identical. Paige smiled with the knowledge. 

"Wow. I guess I never noticed before." 

"You have to look hard sometimes Paige, to find the similarities in sisters. Do you know why?" 

Paige shrugged. 

"It's because sisters can be so much alike on the inside that they look nothing alike on the outside." 

"That's good Piper…really…made absolute sense." 

"Really?" 

"No. Want to translate for me?" 

Piper playfully smacked Paige on the arm and Paige snickered again. 

"Forget it. I'm saying that we all resemble one another in different ways. For example, you, Phoebe and I all have brown eyes. Prue and Phoebe both have high cheekbones. You and Phoebe both smile, a lot, no matter how you're feeling. You and I, we both bite our lower lip when we're nervous. You and Prue had the same proud posture and you guys had similar voices. We all share a sense of humor that we got from our Grams. The list is endless, Paige." 

Paige nodded, seeing what Piper was saying, "You know what else we have in common?" 

"What's that?" 

"The ability to know when a sister is hiding something. And I know that you, Piper, are hiding the fact that you are worried and sad about Leo." 

"I am. Worried and sad. I don't know…I'm still not ready to talk about everything with him, but I do want to know he's okay and that he's not in any trouble." 

"Do you think you can save your marriage?" 

"I don't know Paige, I honestly don't know. One minute I can't imagine my life without Leo. After all, he's been there from the day I was born even if I didn't know about it. But then the next minute I'm here with you, laughing and completely enjoying just living, and I know that the thing that's bringing me down so much has everything to do with Leo. I don't know what I'm going to do." 

Paige studied Piper's frown intensely, "I think you guys can work it out Piper. I really do. You were meant to be together and I know that your problems are rooted in the fact that you can't get pregnant, but I think if anyone can overcome it, it's you and Leo." 

"I hope you're right, Paige." 

"But you know what? You aren't going to solve anything by not talking to him." 

"I know. I do. And I will talk to him after we get back. I just want to enjoy this time with you and with Phoebe and not think about infertility or Leo until we return to San Francisco." 

"Yeah, 'enjoy' this time. I've been nothing but a downer to you, Piper. First I dump my past on you, and then I dig into your pain." 

Piper shook her head in disbelief, "Paige. You have not been a downer to me. Do you want to know what sisters are? I mean…you're still sort of new to the whole gig so maybe you didn't get the textbook definition yet." 

"Hit me with it." 

"A sister is more than just a blood relative, child of your mother. A sister, is someone who doesn't care what you look like in the morning, or if you kick in your sleep. A sister wants to be there for you through everything, laughter and tears. She's not someone who is going to turn her back on you, or only love you when you're happy. She's going to love you with all the baggage intact. She's going to bring you chicken soup when you're sick, and cake when you celebrate. She's going to hold you when you cry and hold you back when you get into trouble. A sister loves, unconditionally day and night. She wants to be there for you, and she wants you to be there for her. It's a two-way street of concern, love, and just plain old being there. Not a one-way tour of duty. So…don't say that you've been a downer to me, because it's not the truth. You have been a piece of my heart that has been missing for 25 years. You have been a part of my soul that has restored my belief in love and of life. You have saved me, Paige, and I think it's damn well time that you let one of us be there for you." 

Paige was stunned to see the tears streaming down Piper's face. She knew immediately that they weren't tears of anger, but tears of truth. She reached across the table and squeezed Piper's hand. 

"You're going to cry in your waffles, Piper." 

Phoebe picked up the phone without contemplation and dialed Piper's cell phone number. It rang four times before Paige finally answered with a sullen, "Hey Pheebs." 

"Paige? Have you guys seen any news reports on TV or heard them on the radio?" 

"No. What's going on, Phoebe? You sound bad." 

"I feel bad, Paige. I had a premonition last night about a girl getting attacked by some kind of beast." 

"What? Why didn't you tell us about it?" 

"That's not important right now. The issue is that I was watching CNN a few minutes ago and they showed a picture of the girl from my premonition and I saw in the background behind one of the reporters the street where the girl was taken from." 

"Where was it Phoebe?" 

"New Orleans." 

There was a moment of silence, as both girls tried to figure out what words should come next. 

"Paige, is Piper there with you?" 

"No, she's inside paying for our dinner. She'll be right out though." 

"That's okay, just tell her I had a premonition and that we can talk about it in more depth when I see you guys tonight, okay?" 

"So you're already at the hotel?" 

"Yeah, I'm going to grab a bite to eat if I can muster up some hunger and then I'm going to catch a nap, because honestly I'm going nuts by myself and I really need you guys near me right now. I just have a bad feeling that you guys aren't okay." 

Paige frowned deeply, "It's okay, Phoebe. We'll be there with you before you know it." 

"Yeah, and I can't wait. Be sure to call me when you guys get into the city limits." 

"We will. I love you." 

"I love you, too, Paige." 

Phoebe laid the phone back on the nightstand and picked up the room service menu. She decided that she would stay in to eat so that she could watch every second of news she could about the missing girl. 


	5. Chapter 5

Piper paid for the food and unwrapped a piece of bubble gum, popping it into her mouth. She turned toward the door. She could feel Paige's frown before she stepped outside of the diner. As looked across the parking lot to the baby blue Plymouth Fury, she found Paige leaning against the car staring down at an object in her hand. As Piper got closer she could see that it was the cell phone. She knew that Phoebe must have called. 

"Paige? Did Phoebe call?" 

Paige nodded her head without speaking a word. 

"What did she say?" 

"Premonition." 

"She had a premonition about you? I thought she was just having nightmares about you, she never said anything about a premonition about you?" 

"It wasn't a premonition about me. It was about a girl from New Orleans that's missing." 

Piper swallowed her panic. Premonitions were never good, "Oh, okay…a girl from New Orleans, huh?" 

Paige raised an eyebrow, "Piper, you know we're meant to follow up on this missing girl, don't you?" 

Piper walked around the car to take her seat behind the wheel. It was her turn to drive and she had a feeling it would be an interesting shift. She flinched as Paige shut the passenger side door after getting in. Piper slowly let her eyes look to her right. Paige sat, arms crossed over her chest, waiting for an answer. 

As Piper started the car and pulled out of the diner parking lot and guided the car back onto the interstate, she remained silent. Once the car was on the interstate, Paige broke her concentration by clearing her throat. 

"So are we going to look into this missing innocent when we get to New Orleans, or not?" 

"It's what we do, isn't it, Paige?" 

Piper became less tense as the road stretched out in front of them. 

"Hey Piper, Phoebe told me she's been having bad dreams about me. Did she tell you anything about them?" 

Piper bit her lower lip and shook her head, "She told me she was having them but didn't give me any details. She called the night before we left, and asked me if you were okay. She was really panicked so I figure these dreams must be getting to her." 

"Yeah, she sounded pretty exhausted on the phone. Do you think her dreams are connected somehow to this premonition?" 

"We won't know that until we get the details from Phoebe." 

Paige nodded and stared out at the road in front of her. After a few minutes of silence, Piper could feel her little sister staring at her. She glanced at Paige, "What?" 

"I don't know. I was thinking that maybe…nah, it's stupid." 

"What, Paige? How can we know if what you're thinking is stupid unless you tell me what it is?" 

"Well, I've been having nightmares and so has Phoebe, do you think they're connected?" 

"Well, our powers are tied into our emotions. Phoebe gets more emotional than anything when it comes to you or me. Maybe her subconscious can pick up on your subconscious." 

"Sounds too complicated if you ask me." 

"So does being a witch, but we pull that job off pretty well." 

"Sometimes." 

"What makes you think that your nightmares have anything to do with the ones that she's having?" 

Paige shrugged and Piper could tell that her little sister wanted to explore the subject in depth. 

"Paige, talk to me, honey? What's going through your mind?" 

It was Paige's turn to bite her lower lip, "It's just the timing of everything, you know. I mean, Phoebe starts having nightmares with me in them the same night I start having nightmares about what Ben did to me. It's weird, that's all." 

"Plus it's the anniversary of when it happened, right?" 

"Tomorrow. It'll be seven years ago, tomorrow. The ninth of August." 

Piper almost swallowed the gum she had been chewing. To prevent herself from doing so she spit it out of the side of the car and snapped her head in Paige's direction. She swerved off the interstate and came to a screeching halt on the shoulder of the road. Fear and surprise rose in Paige's face at the sudden actions of her oldest sister. Piper continued to stare Paige down. 

Piper couldn't believe that she had forgotten. Between fighting with Leo, and not being able to have a baby, she had forgotten and she felt more like a worst enemy to Paige rather than a big sister. 

"Paige," Piper began as she turned her whole body in her seat to face her sister. "I can't believe how awful I am. I can't believe I forgot. How can you forgive me?" 

Paige looked confused, "Forgive you for what? You didn't know." 

"I knew." 

"What?" 

"I know." 

"Piper, you didn't know that I was attacked on…" 

"Not that, Paige. Your birthday…August 2, 1977 was the day you came into this world. And I can't believe that I forgot your birthday. I am the most horrible sister on the face of the planet and no matter what excuse I could think of, none of them is forgivable. Not one single excuse." 

Piper was surprised that while she was on the verge of tears, Paige was almost laughing…almost. 

"It's not funny, Paige. I forgot your birthday. That's, like, punishable by death in sister-land." 

Paige gently shook her head and took Piper's hand, "Piper, we've all had a lot on our minds. A lot. Last Friday, my birthday, it started off with me waking up, heading to the shower to get ready for work, but instead I found Phoebe sitting on the bathroom floor crying because Cole keeps popping up in her life, and then, by the time I got a shower and got to the kitchen I spilled coffee everywhere, then I was late to work. I came home at lunch and if you'll remember, I walked in on another argument between you and Leo. Then very late at night I came home from work, tired, hungry and not up for company. Phoebe didn't remember my birthday either and frankly, I wasn't all that upset that it was forgotten. I have a horrible track record when it comes to my birthdays, they always go wrong. So please don't feel like you need forgiveness or whatever. I mean I guess I was a little disappointed, but Piper, I see the way you're looking at me right now, and knowing that you love me as much as that, it makes up for all 25 of my missed birthdays. Okay?" 

Piper studied Paige's face. There was no sign of resentment or any real disappointment. Nonetheless Piper had every intention of making it up to her, "Okay." 

Piper turned her left blinker on and slowly guided the car back onto the road. Traffic was nil and the driving was smooth. Paige remained silent for only a few seconds. 

"Hey, Piper?" 

"What?" 

"Don't you ever drive like that again! You could have killed us both." 

Piper smiled, she didn't mean to, but Paige's delayed panic was humorous, "I'm sorry, sweetie. I won't drive like a maniac anymore." 

"Thank you." 

They let the wind from the open top wrap around them, cooling them. After a quiet moment of reflection, Piper decided to pursue conversation. 

"Hey, Paige, do you want to talk about it some more." 

"I don't know what to say about it." 

"Are you ever scared because of what happened to you?" 

Paige looked up into the night thoughtfully as she pondered Piper's question, "Well, does waking up in the middle night in cold sweats and wanting to crawl into one of my sisters' beds and cuddle close count as scared?" 

Piper smiled sympathetically. 

"Yeah, I do get scared because of what happened, but it's been 6 years, so it's not an everyday thing, you know? I think that what scares me the most, is that he's out there, somewhere, with the knowledge of what happened to me." 

"The stranger?" 

Paige nodded, "Yeah." 

"So how did it affect your relationships? With men, I mean?" 

"You aren't going to believe this, at all. But, the only person I've been with, as in…you know…is Glen." 

Piper barely covered the surprise in her voice, "Really?" 

"It's okay, I put on a pretty good vamp show sometimes, no pun intended there with the turning into a vampire and all thing. But I'm really not a slut." 

"Well, I didn't think you were a slut, but…Glen is the only person you've been with?" 

"Yep. We dated in high school. I've known him all my life. Our first time together was junior year. His parents were out of town, so forth, and so on. I don't know…he's the only guy I've ever felt safe with." 

"Always, or just in the last six years?" 

"Both. But more so in the last six years." 

"Well, in that case Glen ranks pretty high in my books, because anyone who can make my little sister feel safe must be a good person." 

"That makes four," Paige said as she once again turned her face to the sky and closed her eyes. 

"Four what?" 

"Four people who make me feel safe. You, Phoebe, Glen, and Leo." 

Piper once again wrapped her hand around Paige's giving it a gentle squeeze, "What did he look like?" 

"Who?" 

"The stranger who killed Ben, what did he look like?" 

Paige looked at Piper, "Well…he had dark blonde hair, blue eyes, and dimples. He looked like he worked out, a lot." 

"And what did Ben look like?" Piper hated to make Paige grimace the way she did when she said the name Ben, but the conversation had a purpose. 

"Piper, why do you want to know?" 

"I just…I was thinking about what you said, about the timing of Phoebe's dreams and yours and about the date tomorrow and I just want to know what these guys look like just in case." 

"But Ben is dead, Piper, you don't need…" 

"Paige, we both know that in our world, dead things don't always stay dead." 

Midnight loomed near. Jack finished handcuffing his right hand to the iron pipe under the kitchen sink. It was the sturdiest fixed object in his house. He used his free hand to toss the key across the room and then to pick up a small remote control that sat next to him on the floor. He pressed a button on the remote and could tell from a small red light across the room that the video camera was recording. 

He lay back on the makeshift bed he had created in the kitchen using blankets and a pillow. He closed his eyes in prayer and in an attempt to sleep. As soon as he closed his eyes, a noise from within the house reached his ears. Before he could sit up and look around, blackness overcame him and he was once again swept into that now-familiar feeling of total surrender. 

Piper had managed to stay awake the entire sixteen hours and had driven 12 of them. She felt more alive and more comfortable behind the wheel than as a passenger. They had only stopped once since their stop at the diner for dinner. Piper had gotten Paige to talk some about what had happened to her and about the things she knew Paige hadn't dealt with. She was pretty sure that Paige had never told another soul about what had occurred that dark night in her past. 

The interstate was quite busy for 2am on a Thursday night/Friday morning. Piper had left the top down to let the cool air keep her refreshed. Piper sped effortlessly around large eighteen-wheelers and cringed when some of their drivers made lewd gestures at her through the window. She was glad Paige was asleep. She figured Paige had had enough of lewd men to last her a lifetime. 

Piper had pulled off onto the shoulder of the road two hours earlier to place a blanket around Paige. Her little sister had drifted off to sleep after an hour of conversation. Piper glanced at Paige and noticed that her hands were once again balled into fists, her nails digging into her palms. She knew that Paige was dreaming, and knew it was most likely not good. 

Piper let her mind wander as she considered the things that she saw more clearly than before. Piper thought of the odd ways Paige had handled various situations in the year that they had come to know her. Things made sense for Piper now. 

She thought about the way Paige had handled Finn, Gammill's boy toy. Paige had put off quite a sexy vibe and had not seemed shy about it at all. Piper carefully recalled the scene in her mind as it played out. She saw it differently. She could see Paige at Finn's front door, lollipop in hand. She looked, in her memory, more closely at Paige's face and saw for the first time, the complete fear that Paige was feeling as Finn was urging her to come inside. Piper had, at the time, assumed the face Paige had made was saying, "oops, plan's not working" but the relief she remembered seeing on Paige's face as they walked away from the house, she now knew was the look of fear subsiding. 

Piper also recalled how Paige had, later, at her apartment, seemed offended when Piper thought she and Finn had been playing around. Piper smiled as she remembered that Paige had just been looking at the lack of bellybutton on Finn. She shook her head in a wave of sadness as a tear threatened to appear. She looked again at Paige, sleeping fitfully in the passenger seat. 

"How could I have never seen the truth about you, Paige Halliwell?" Piper whispered under her breath. She glanced again at her little sister and wondered when or if Paige would change her last name to Halliwell. 

Her mind drifted to another memory of the past year as the road continued to unfold before them. A fleeting thought of Leo brought to mind the time Paige had been so riled up about Leo watching over her without her knowledge. The idea of Leo possibly seeing something Paige didn't want him to see really had gotten to her little sister. More than it should have. But now she knew why. 

Her mind floated to the same day when Paige was being followed around the house by the prince from Paige's past life. She was repulsed by his pursuit. Another puzzle piece in place. 

As the city loomed into view and Piper turned off the interstate, she picked up her cell phone and dialed Phoebe's. She noted the address Phoebe gave her and determined that it would be relatively easy to find. It

was one of the bigger hotels downtown. Piper hung up the phone and looked again to the passenger seat. She prayed that Paige would someday be able to face her past head on with the help of she and Phoebe. 

Paige flinched, as the music grew louder. She felt yet another hand on her back, on her arm, on her face. She waded through the pool of partygoers and kegs. She found one step, then two, her vision dizzied with the vehemence of the drug she had been slipped. Faces, known and unknown, stared at her with laughing eyes, eyes that sparkled with the revolting knowledge of lust. A face flashed in front of her, his smile revealing a wicked, evil strategy. Alone, on a couch, pushed to the floor, she screamed for breath, for help, for someone to save her from the atrocity of his crime. There was only that stranger and that eradication of her attacker, after-the-fact. He was too late to stop the bruising, too late to stop the bleeding, and too late to stop the monster. And then, to kill him, in front of her, to give her both that gift, and that burden of knowing, of seeing, of feeling that hate sated, was then, a good trade, but as she fought to wake from her hellish slumber, she knew that gift, that burden of seeing her invader put to death, was nothing but a complete inundation of her conscience. Leaving her guilty, leaving her twice as shamed, leaving her screaming in the passenger's seat of that rented, 1967 baby blue Fury. 

Piper's heart stopped beating as the silent parking deck of their hotel was filled with the painful echoes of Paige's scream. Piper dropped the bag she had been lifting out of the trunk and ran to the passenger side of the car where Paige had already stopped screaming and had dropped her face into her hands, pulling her feet onto the seat and hiding herself in a ball. 

Piper opened Paige's door and let the enormity of the situation penetrate her heart. She could almost feel Paige's fear, sadness, and utter despair. "How could I have not known this about Paige?" She asked herself, "What in those sad brown eyes does not scream, 'help me, I'm lost inside my soul'?" 

Piper wrapped the blanket around Paige and pulled her, still weeping, to her feet. She wrapped her arms around Paige and held her as tightly as possible. She felt Paige give way to her sobs and sink into her arms. 

After several minutes, Paige pulled away from Piper and quickly wiped away the tears from her face. Piper couldn't believe how beautiful Paige looked despite the weary, tear-soaked appearance. Piper gave her baby sister's hand a squeeze and a half-smile. Paige inhaled deeply, returned the squeeze to Piper's hand and grabbed a bag, slowly and silently making her way to the elevator. 

Phoebe stood on the balcony of the hotel room looking up into the stars and continuously checking her watch. Piper had called only ten minutes before to get directions to the hotel. Phoebe expected them to be there any minute. She felt his presence behind her without having to see him. She didn't look at him, just waited for him to speak. 

"Phoebe," his voice was hoarse and tired. "Are you okay?" 

She flinched as the sound of innocent worry floated from his voice, "How did you find me?" 

"I can always find you." 

"Even when I don't want you to. Cole, please just go." She remained with her back to him. 

"You have to believe that I'm good." 

"Leave me alone Cole," Phoebe allowed the monotone syllables to slip out of her mouth in a whisper audible only to Cole. 

"I've tried, Phoebe. I have, but leaving you is not an option. We are meant to be together." 

"Will you please just stop talking!?" She turned quickly to face him, hate and anger evident in the glare of her eyes. 

Cole moved to the sliding glass door that led to the balcony and rested his shoulder against the doorframe. He looked at Phoebe and smiled, "You'll never be able to live without me." 

Phoebe pushed past Cole and into the room, "What makes you think that Cole. And what makes you think after all that you did to me, to my sisters, that I would ever, could ever, love you?"

"Because you know that it wasn't me who did those things, it was the Source." 

"What's the difference, Cole?" Her tone was ice as she held her cold stare into Cole's eyes. 

"Ouch," he laughed. 

"You don't get it do you? I hate the sight of you. I hate everything you represent and everything you ever turned me into." 

She took solid satisfaction when he recoiled from her remark. 

"Cole, leave now. Don't ever come back to me. If you do, my sisters and I will be waiting with a vanquishing potion. Do you understand that?" 

Phoebe left Cole in the hotel room and locked herself in the bathroom. She knew he could shimmer into her hiding place if he wanted to but she had no other place to go. She leaned into the counter and took inventory of her feelings, her thoughts. She was happily surprised to find that she felt nothing toward Cole, just contempt and disgust. Her only thought was of her sisters and of keeping them close to her. 

She sat in the bathroom trying to determine if Cole was still in the hotel room. After a few minutes, she heard the hotel room door opening. She hoped that it was Piper and Paige and held her breath as she waited for a voice. 

"Phoebe! Are you in there?" Piper's voice, gravelly from sleep, followed a light knock on the bathroom door. 

Phoebe's heart lifted in relief as she unlocked the bathroom door and stepped out to see Piper standing in front of her with her hands on her hips, her face tired but a slight smile turning up the corners of her mouth. Paige, arms dragging a rolling suitcase, stood bedraggled behind her, not a smile to be seen on her pale face. 

"Hi." Phoebe said as she threw her arms around Piper in a much-needed hug. She did not realize until she felt the steadiness of Piper's arms that she had been shaking so badly. She held on tightly until Piper broke their silence. 

"Phoebe? Honey? Can we get all the way in the room now?" 

Phoebe stepped back, a sheepish grin on her face, "Sorry, come on." 

She took Paige's suitcase from her and set it down inside the room as Paige, still quiet and wordless, sat on the edge of the bed staring at her feet. Phoebe glanced at Piper who gave Phoebe an expression that Phoebe knew meant, "Tread carefully, she's had a bad night." 

Phoebe knelt on the floor in front of Paige. She had never seen her younger sister so quiet, so still, so sad. She swallowed hard as she looked from Paige to Piper again remembering that Piper had said that Paige had gone through a dark time. Phoebe took in the sight of her older sister's tired, deeply saddened eyes and followed their gaze to Paige. She saw that the dark time Piper was talking about wasn't over. She realized that Paige was shaking as much as she had been moments earlier. Flashes from her nightmares about the beast attacking Paige flew through her mind. Phoebe pushed them to the back of her thoughts and focused on the Paige that sat in front of her. 

Phoebe gently lifted Paige's hand into her own. She peered up into Paige's face with concern and gentle curiosity. It startled Phoebe when tears dropped one after the other onto Paige's pallid cheeks. Phoebe's brow furrowed in worry. She couldn't imagine what was so awful that it had Paige, a normally happy, carefree person, crying like a child, and Piper biting her bottom lip so hard that she was sure to draw blood. "What is going on with my sisters?" she asked herself as she continued looking from Piper to Paige. 

Detective Riland had been at the police station for far too long with not enough caffeine. He looked again at the pictures of the missing girls. The most recent ones were taped to the wall along with those of the previous six years. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the high back of the black leather office chair. He breathed deeply, inhaling through his nose, exhaling through his mouth. The clues in the case were negligible at best. He was beginning to think that the tales of the Loup Garou that he had heard since joining the force were possibly true. 

He almost chuckled at the thought but with nothing to go on, he felt as though any avenue unexplored was an avenue worth looking into. He knew about a man who lived in an old fishing shack in the swamps. He had been at the police station before complaining about wolves and uttering nonsense about the alleged swamp wolf. Thomas Riland couldn't believe what he was about to do. He grabbed his keys and in the dead of night headed to his patrol car, intent on visiting the old man in the swamps, intent on hearing more about the legend of the Loup Garou. 

Phoebe was now kneeling in front of both of her sisters. She was glad that Piper had finally sat down beside Paige and pulled her closer to her in a half embrace. Phoebe was surprised that Paige gave into the gesture so easily. She had never seen Paige so physically affectionate. The silence was deafening to Phoebe. She knew she was the only one of the three that had no idea what was wrong with Paige and what had driven Piper into full mothering mode. 

"Okay," Phoebe's tone was soft and easy. "Which one of you is going to tell me what's going on?" 

Silence fell between intermittent sounds of crying. 

Phoebe sighed, "Piper?" 

"She, um, had a really bad nightmare." 

Phoebe nodded wanting more, but not sure what questions to ask. She waited for Piper to speak again. She was shocked when Paige lifted her head off Piper's shoulder and looked her in the eyes. 

"There's something I need to tell you." 

Phoebe's eyes were wide with anticipation, but the dark, lost look in Paige's eyes gave her squirrels in her stomach. 

"You can tell me anything, Paige." Phoebe looked at Piper and saw that Piper's eyes were closed. She knew that whatever Paige was going to say would be astonishing, heartbreaking, and completely unexpected. 

Piper interrupted, "Why don't we get more comfortable? Paige and I will wash up and change for bed and then we can talk." 

Phoebe nodded, hating to wait, but seeing the urgency Piper had in her eyes to speak with her alone. 

Piper ran her hand over Paige's hair, "Paige, sweetie, do you want to get in the bathroom first?" 

Paige nodded. She got up, got her clothes out of her bag and went into the bathroom shutting the door behind her. 

As soon as Phoebe heard the water running, she got up from the floor and turned to Piper with a face of complete irritation, "Okay, Piper…what in the hell is going on?" 

Piper sat on the edge of the bed again and Phoebe sat next to her never dropping her eyes from Piper's face. 

"Pheebs, I don't know if it's a good idea to make Paige talk tonight. She's exhausted." 

"I could see that from the moment I saw her face. I need to know what has you two acting so strangely. What did she tell you last night?" 

"I have to let her be the one to tell you, Phoebe. But it's not good. And I think it's tearing her apart more than she let me see. You should have heard her screaming when she woke up from this last nightmare." 

Phoebe could see Piper's tears fighting to the surface. She draped her arm across Piper's shoulder, "I've never seen her looking so lost. I mean, even when she told us about her parents' death, she wasn't that…that…what's the word I'm looking for?" 

"Afraid?" Piper offered. 

"Yeah, terrified." 

Piper nodded and inhaled a sudden deep breath, "Okay, you know what we're going to do?" 

"What?" 

"We're going to handle this. We're going to listen, and we are going to hold her and we will see her through this." 

"It's going to help me when I hear what happened to her." 

"Be careful what you ask for, Phoebe." 


	6. Chapter 6

Paige sat on the edge of the bathtub

Paige sat on the edge of the bathtub. She left the water running so she could think without hearing the whispered voices of her sisters. She loved them for caring about her and for worrying, but she felt guilty for making them feel so sad. She looked at her reflection in the mirror that hung on the back of the door. She almost smiled as she took in the sight of her copper hair and tired eyes. "I look like hell," she thought as she looked away from the mirror and at her hands. She smiled thinking about her conversation with Piper at the diner regarding their similarities. 

She took a deep breath and stood, feeling the shakiness in her legs. She blocked out more images of her dreams of her past and turned off the water. She placed her hand on the door wanting to only sleep, peacefully, without incident. Yet she also wanted to expunge her fears and expel her past, revealing everything to Phoebe as she had done to Piper. 

She turned the knob and walked out of the bathroom. Piper passed her on her way into the bathroom. 

"I'm going to just brush my teeth and wash my face and I'll be right out. Why don't you go ahead and go to sleep?" 

Paige looked at Piper with a thankful expression and waited until Piper had closed the bathroom door behind her until she moved into the hotel room where Phoebe was sitting on one of the beds, back against the headboard, propped up by pillows. Paige complied when Phoebe patted the bed indicating to Paige that she wanted her to sit next to her. 

Phoebe looked at her little sister and realized that beneath the curves and allure of the grown woman beat the heart of a very delicate soul. She looked at Paige as she crawled under the covers. Her oversized socks, long sleeve t-shirt and black gym shorts gave Paige the appearance of a high school girl. 

Phoebe slid down so that she could comfortably cuddle with her baby sister. A thought of Cole crossed her mind and she remembered how she, Piper and Paige had all held onto one another after they had vanquished Cole as the source. This time, however, Phoebe was holding on to Paige, for Paige, and not for herself. 

She smoothed down Paige's hair and hoped Paige would say something to break the awkwardness that was slowly growing between them. They both knew that Phoebe was holding Paige to comfort her and they both knew that Phoebe wasn't sure why Paige needed comforting. 

Paige's eyes were closed. She was grateful for the effort Phoebe was making. And she knew that she was going to have to tell the middle sister about her past as soon as possible. If she didn't, Paige knew that she, along with Phoebe, would be unable to sleep. Paige heard the bathroom door opening and felt Piper crawling into bed with she and Phoebe. She knew that she had Phoebe on one side of her and Piper on the other. She knew she should have felt strong and safe, but with only Piper knowing what had happened to her, she felt like she was lying to Phoebe about who she was, and she didn't want to carry that secret alone any longer. 

Phoebe was startled as Paige abruptly sat up in the bed. She followed suit, as did Piper. 

"I want to talk about this now. I want to tell Phoebe now." Paige's voice was hushed and hurried as she looked at Piper pleadingly. 

Phoebe's heart pounded as Piper tucked a strand of copper hair that had fallen out of Paige's ponytail, behind Paige's ear and said, "Okay, baby girl. It's your story, and if you're ready to tell her about it then that's up to you. Is it okay if I just keep sitting right here holding you while you talk? I seem to be having trouble letting go of you." 

Paige smiled despite the nervousness she was feeling. Piper wrapped her arms around her from behind and Paige leaned into her letting the embrace warm her and make her feel safe. She looked at Phoebe who she could tell was feeling a little left out and a lot lost. 

Paige took a deep breath and began, "When I was 19, I went to this party. It was the summer after my freshman year of college. I knew some of the older, popular, kids, and I hung out with them because they were crazy and wild and they made me forget I was alone in the world." 

Phoebe thought about the weight of that statement. For all intent purposes, Paige had been alone after her parents had died. She watched closely as Paige's eyes seemed to glaze over as though she were fading into another place, another time. 

"At this party, a guy, Ben, handed me a piece of paper. It was blank so I set it down. I thought he was just being a geek. Within minutes I started feeling weird, drugged." 

"LSD paper?" Phoebe's blood ran cold as she realized where the story was going. 

Paige nodded, "Anyway, I stumbled around and kept getting twisted and turned around and before I knew it I was alone in the basement of that house. It was a nice place, big screen TV, everything. I could still hear the heavy metal music pounding through the ceiling. I couldn't really keep my balance, the effects of the drug were way too much, so I sat on the couch. I didn't even realize that Ben had sat next to me." 

Paige's tears fell hard as she recalled in her mind for the thousandth time in 24 hours the images of that night. 

Details, details, details, all the details crowded Paige's thoughts. "Now or never," she decided to herself. 

"Ben was on the couch next to me. I…I guess he followed me to the basement. And I didn't even notice it, you know? Anyway, I felt confused, disoriented. I could feel his hand on my leg. And he was trying to move it up my leg, and I kept pushing him away. He pushed me off the couch, and onto the floor. I tried to get up but he was on top of me before I could move." 

Piper was barely breathing. She knew Paige was going into the details of what happened to her, more information than she had shared with Piper earlier. She could tell that Phoebe was holding her own in taking in Paige's secret. Piper knew that she'd be sharing a bed with both of her sisters before the night was over. 

"I fought him. I fought him as hard as I could. I scratched and kicked and screamed for help. No one could hear. He…he…tore off my clothes. And he hit me. And I kept saying no. I did." 

Piper could feel Paige's breathing getting more shallow and faster. Phoebe watched as tear after tear after tear streamed down Paige's face. Her own tears tasted bitter as each fell in compassion for her little sister. 

"He pinned me down, so that I could barely breathe, much less move. Then he…" 

Paige broke down into sobs, something Piper had felt coming. She could feel Paige's hand wrapped tightly around the arm with which she was holding Paige against her. 

Phoebe had taken one of Paige's hands into her own. She wasn't sure if she had done that for her own comfort or for Paige's. 

"It's okay, honey," Phoebe said as she wiped a tear off of her own cheek. "Take your time." 

Paige nodded, and drew in a deep shudder as she drew in the strength to continue, "He held me down and I kept screaming and he called me names, like whore, and tramp and I just kept screaming for him to stop and he wouldn't. He…he, slapped me again and covered my mouth and then he raped me." 

The three sisters sat together crying, feeling each other's hurt that this had happened to the youngest in a time when she was alone with no one to hold her, to listen to her, to wipe away her tears. Piper relinquished her hold on Paige so that Phoebe could envelop her in her arms and hold her there. As Paige sobbed into Phoebe's shoulder, Piper ran her hand over Phoebe's hair. Phoebe looked into Piper's eyes, and Piper knew that Phoebe, for once in her life, was at a loss for words. 

"There's more," Piper said quietly, knowing she would have to finish the story for Paige. 

She recited to Phoebe the same thing Paige had told her about the stranger killing Ben and then taking the body away with him, never to be seen again. Phoebe looked at Piper with astonishment and held Paige more tightly. 

"It's okay, Paige," Phoebe whispered into her little sister's ear, "You've got me and Piper with you now and you don't have to live with this by yourself anymore. We're here for you and I know that you're talked out for tonight, but anytime you need to talk about it, to get mad about it, any time you're afraid and just need a hug, Piper and I are here for you." 

Paige let go of Phoebe and lay down on the bed. She was tired, exhausted and she knew that her sisters would not leave her side for the night. She knew that she would finally sleep without dreaming, feeling relieved of the heavy weight she had been carrying for six years. She was thankful that she had sisters who could save her from her darkness. 

As the sisters, each embraced in another's arms, fell asleep in a comfortable hotel room in San Antonio, Texas, a howl screeched out upon the bayou in the next state. Louisiana, swamps humid and dirty, beckoned for its next prey. The Loup Garou had a connection to the copper-haired Halliwell, and an adventure beyond belief, beyond fear, waited for the arrival of the magical travelers. 

Sunshine streaming, like the beacon of a lighthouse, beckoned Piper to open her eyes. What she saw and heard made her nervous…beyond nervous. The sky above her whizzed by. Her head was haphazardly propped against a duffel bag. Her back hurt from the vinyl seat and impossibly uncomfortable position in which she had fallen asleep. She had relinquished control of the car to Paige with instructions not to let Phoebe drive. But now, as her eyes focused on the driver, she realized that the middle sister sat proudly behind the big steering wheel. 

She glanced at her wristwatch and saw that it was just after noon. She was about to fall back to sleep, resigned to the fact that she had to let Phoebe drive on, when sounds came to her. As she listened carefully she realized it was music without instruments…simply put, it was her sisters singing, happily in the front seat. 

"There is a house in New Orleans  
They call the Rising Sun  
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy  
And God I know I'm one" 

Piper smiled despite herself as Phoebe pointed to Paige, and indicated it was her turn to sing the next verse. Piper smiled even wider when Paige broke out into song. 

"My mother was a tailor  
She sewed my new blue jeans  
My father was a gamblin' man  
Down in New Orleans" 

Piper closed her eyes again delighting in the racket her sisters were making as they sang the next few verses together. Her mind drifted to thoughts of Leo. She knew she needed to at least talk to him even if he could already sense where she was. She decided that when they got to New Orleans she'd call for Leo and try to work out their life. Again, she smiled as her sisters' voices, happy and light, crooned. 

"Well, there is a house in New Orleans  
They call the Rising Sun  
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy  
And God I know I'm one." 

Detective Riland was once again leaning back at his desk. His visit to the old man's house in the middle of the night had turned out to be a good idea. As he had stepped on the man's front porch, Riland was met with the muzzle of a rifle. He had quickly apologized, turned around and walked back to his vehicle. As he left, Riland muttered under his breath, but loud of enough for the man to hear, "That's what I get for trying to find out anything about this damned Loup Garou." 

The old man had immediately called him back to the porch, ready to talk about the bayou werewolf. The majority of what Detective Riland had heard sounded ridiculous to him. However, something in the old man's story struck a nerve in Thomas Riland. The man's voice played itself over and over in Riland's head. 

"The Loup Garou is on a hunt. There's one he's looking for, a girl. He had her once but was forced to let her go. He's seeking revenge. Policeman Riland, you got yourself a serial killing wolf, I tell you. He's looking for her." 

Riland looked again to the images of the missing girls. Same age, same time frame. Riland walked around his desk and headed for the chief's office. He knew how to find this so called serial killing wolf. 

Jack Bijou awoke in his own bed. A surge of relief and disbelief washed over him as he took in a deep breath. The amount of relief he was feeling did not compensate for the fear that rushed through his veins when he realized that he was not in the same place he remembered laying down last. He was too afraid to look at his surroundings, too afraid to see if somewhere near was another body. He closed his eyes and suddenly his mind was inundated with images and memories he did not know his psyche held. He could remember every second of the missing minutes of the last week. Every minute, of every hour, of every day, of his entire life. More relief washed over him as he realized he was the man he thought he was. A man who would never take a life without cause. A man who would protect the innocent until his own life was gone. 

Jack called to mind the faces of the women he had tried to protect. 

"I didn't kill them," he thought aloud as he jumped up from the bed. "It wasn't me." 

Jack was silenced as he let his eyes focus on the room around him. It was a mess. Drawers had been thrown to the floor. Clothes were scattered everywhere. As he walked away from the bedroom and into the rest of his home, he realized that his entire place had been ransacked. He knew why, and he knew who had done it, the only thing he didn't know was if the 'what' had been found. He ran quickly to his computer desk and fell to his knees as his eyes fell instantaneously on pictures scattered across the floor. There were more than a hundred pictures of the girl he had been remembering. She was his first save. His first innocent although he knew he had failed her almost as badly as he had the girls in more recent years. He touched the pictures and he knew instantly that his enemy had laid sight on them. He knew that his enemy had also discovered the file he kept on her. Where she was living, her family, her career, everything about her was in one file. 

Jack punched a wall as he stood, not even flinching as pain seeped through his knuckles. He would have to fight his adversary once more in a game that involved a pawn who was unaware she was part of the competition. 

Paige was consumed by the music again. It was different than her other nightmares. There were voices calling her to some one, to some place. Her mind ached with the images and sounds, the voices tearing her in two. "Come to me," a voice said, low and seductive. Then another voice frantic and unapproachable, "Stay away, Paige, stay far away from here. Do not come." 

Just as Paige was intrigued, albeit scared, by the voices and the images, they changed into the same, frightening nightmare she had been having. Ben, hands, music, screams from her own mouth, begging, pleading, and then the pain as Ben tore into her. Then there was only the silence that surrounded her as the stranger wrapped his hands around Ben's throat and forced the air away from Ben's lungs. 

Piper glanced out of the window of the grocery store to keep an eye on the Fury. She and Phoebe had left Paige sleeping in the back seat as they roamed the aisles of the store searching for goodies to snack on during their stay in New Orleans. They had pulled into the city thirty minutes prior to their foray into the store. Paige had been asleep for a while and they knew she needed it. 

Still, Piper worried about leaving Paige alone in the car even though she knew she and Phoebe would be gone only ten minutes. Piper managed to tear her gaze away from the car in time to see Phoebe ducking into the cereal aisle. She quickly followed Phoebe after she grabbed a copy of Entertainment Weekly from the checkout line shelf. She scanned the cover story as she walked toward Phoebe. 

Phoebe was half pushing, half riding the shopping cart down the aisle as she picked up a box of Lucky Charms and put them in the cart. Piper raised an eyebrow at her sister's choice of cereal. 

"Lucky Charms? Since when do you like Lucky Charms?" 

"Change is a good thing Piper, besides, I don't like Lucky Charms, but our little sister does." 

"Oh, why didn't I know that?" 

Phoebe just shrugged as she looked at the cover of the magazine Piper was reading, "Since when do you read about American Idols?" 

"Change is a good thing Phoebe. Besides, it's one of Paige's favorites." 

"Mine too. Have you watched it at all?" 

"Yeah, Paige and I voted for Kelly Clarkson this week." 

"Really? You think she's good?" 

"Sure, better than others. We like Tamyra too. If those two don't make it to the final two then there's something downright flaky going on at American Idols." 

"I could have been an American Idol, you know?" 

"When?" 

"I'll have you know, big sister, that I have an amazing voice." 

"Right. And I'm sure you were a superstar in Japan once, huh? Now, get to pushing this cart so we can get back to our sister. I don't like leaving her out there alone." 

Phoebe stuck her tongue out at Piper and as while she wasn't watching where she was going she ran the cart into a pyramid of cereal boxes. Phoebe and Piper winced in agony as boxes scattered everywhere making a ferocious sound that echoed off the tile flooring. Phoebe knew Piper would be upset but was surprised to find Piper doubled over in laughter at her blunder. 

"Phoebe! You should have seen the look on your face just now." 

"Very funny Piper, help me pick this stuff up before a manager comes over and throws us out of the store." 

Jack knew the race was on as he guided his car down the streets of New Orleans. He knew that his nemesis was already heading toward her. He could sense them both. He also knew his enemy had that power as well. He glanced at the moon and prayed that the morphing would hold off until he could get to her. Just a little further, he thought as he made one turn after another. 

Paige sat upright in the backseat of the car. Her hair felt sticky against her neck as the humidity merged with the cold sweat that had formed while Paige had been dreaming. She took in a deep breath and swallowed the sting of acid rising in her throat. Her hands were shaking as she rubbed her eyes and realized that she was burning up. She couldn't tell if it was the heat of New Orleans or a fever. As she directed her attention to that which surrounded her she saw that she was alone, in the dark, outside of a grocery store in the middle of the city. 

She wondered why it was so quiet, as she always thought New Orleans would be loud and obnoxious. As the thought crossed her mind she heard the scuffle of feet nearby. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw a shadow move near the edge of the poorly lit parking lot. Her trembling hand reached for the back of the seat to pull her out of the car. When it did it found something that made Paige breathless with fear. 

With a roar a beast descended upon her scooping her into its arms with one fast motion clawing the vinyl seat as it did. Paige fought to get out of its grasp but to no avail. She had no time to see the shadow chasing after her captor or to see that her captor was faster than light. She passed out before either image entered her mind. 

Phoebe and Piper were still laughing as they exited the store. They half-chased each other across the parking lot with their bags filled with groceries. As they neared the silent car, Piper's heart moved up into her throat. A feeling, wracked with maternal instinct, woman's intuition, and sisterly concern, told her that when she looked into the backseat of the car she would not find Paige. Sure enough, she and Phoebe both stopped abruptly as the back seat of the Fury came into their view. Paige was gone and a rip two feet long, was the only evidence that Paige had not gone willingly. 

Piper dropped the groceries she had been carrying. They landed on the asphalt with a thud. Phoebe, without a word, lowered her bags into the car and turned to face Piper. 

"What do we do Piper?" 

Piper couldn't believe it. They had warning, they had knowledge and still she did not protect Paige. She immediately blamed herself and then saw Phoebe shudder in fear and wisdom as a howl, long, low and hungry shattered their stunned reverie. 

The smell hit Paige before she even opened her eyes. A scent, not unlike a dead animal, made her gag in revulsion. She drew in a slow methodic breath trying to overcome the wave of nausea. Her head pounded with blackness as she slowly opened her eyes and crawled to a sitting position. There was scarcely any light to adjust to in the small room. There was really nothing but the waning moon coming through a filthy window. 

She tried to remember what was happening to her, or at least where she was. All she could recall was the feeling of fear as she was taken out of the Fury in the parking lot of the grocery store. Paige pulled her shaking hands to her stomach and once again suppressed the need to heave. She slowly stood, trying to regain any semblance of composure she could. 

As she drew in another deep breath, an image shook her world. A face was staring at her through the window, a face that raked over her soul with coals of fear. She backed away from the window slamming herself into the far end of the room she occupied. Her breath was shallow and her pulse was deep as she continued to stare at the face that stared at her. 

Paige knew that face, she knew, beyond a shadow of doubt that face shouldn't be there. It was the face of a dead man. Piper's words played again in her ears, "Paige, we both know that in our world, dead things don't always stay dead." 

"Not Ben," Paige whispered to herself. "It can't be Ben." 

Piper and Phoebe stood near the police station. A swarm of news reporters and cameras flooded the streets surrounding the station. Piper bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes trying to decide what they should do. Phoebe had not stopped crying since they had gotten into the Paige-less car at the grocery store and driven straight to the station. 

"Phoebe, listen to me," Piper turned toward Phoebe and grabbed her shoulders. 

"Piper, what are we going to do without her?" 

Piper's scowl made Phoebe flinch in regret. More regret surfaced as Piper spoke, "Damn it Phoebe. Don't you dare even imagine it! We aren't going to have to do anything without her. My heart and soul tells me that our little sister is very much alive and very much scared, waiting for us to help her. So don't you dare give up on me…and don't you dare give up on Paige. Do you understand me?" 

Phoebe nodded and quickly wiped away the remaining tears. She studied the crowd outside the station and began to think clearheadedly. 

"Piper? I don't think we should do this. I think we should try to find her ourselves." 

"But Phoebe, we have no idea where to begin to look for her. Maybe if we talk to the detective in charge he can help us out." 

"But Piper, if we tell him that Paige is missing then she will become the next headline and we cannot risk that kind of exposure. And we both know that this is supernatural." 

Piper looked at the sidewalk, her hands clinched at her sides in ultimate frustration. 

"So where do we start then, Phoebe? Where?" 

"We can try calling for Leo again." 

"Phoebe, we yelled our butts off for him and he obviously is somewhere he can't hear us. Or maybe he's ignoring me." 

"Maybe, but he wouldn't ignore Paige's calls and you know that if she's alive she's calling for him." 

"There are no 'ifs' here, Phoebe. Paige is alive. There's no room for doubt there. The question is, is she conscious and if she's conscious, who has her and where is she?" 

"Then we can scry for her." 

"Phoebe we don't have a crystal." 

"Fine, then we'll drop a picture of Paige off with the detective in charge just to say we covered that base. Then we'll leave immediately and try to find Paige ourselves. We'll call the cops if we find anything." 

Piper and Phoebe entered the police station and asked for the man in charge of the case of the missing girls. 

A robust uniformed officer looked peeved as he leaned his elbows on his desk and looked up at the sisters, "Detective Riland is not giving out any interviews or comments to you ridiculous reporters. He's concentrating all his efforts on finding the missing girls instead of causing a melee like you people." 

Piper was irritated to the core with the man's lack of manners, "Listen buddy, my sister was just kidnapped from a grocery store parking lot. We wanted to drop off a picture of her so that your Detective Riland would know who the most recent victim is." 

Phoebe and Piper both took solid satisfaction in the man's face as his jaw dropped and a look of apology overcame him. 

"I'm sorry, look, I'll get Detective Riland for you right now." The man left his place at the front desk and disappeared behind swinging doors. Within minutes, a man motioned for Piper and Phoebe to follow him through the doors. Piper took in his strong build and dark hair. She imagined that when he wasn't scowling he was probably quite good-looking. Then she remembered that she too, wore the same scowl. 

As the three of them sat around a table in an interrogation room, Piper tried to smile at the man, but failed through her tears. 

Phoebe took the lead for Piper, "Detective Riland? I'm Phoebe Halliwell and this is Piper Halliwell. Our sister, Paige was just taken from a grocery store parking lot. We know that it's connected to the cases you're working on." 

"And how do you know this?" Thomas was skeptical at best. 

"Because my sister here has seen your killer," Piper thought that the man's skepticism could be deterred if she shocked him into believing." 

"That's right, Detective Riland, I've seen the beast that has taken these girls." 

Thomas hid his surprise well, but had already convinced himself that the girls he was sitting with were nuts. He took the picture from the one named Piper and looked at it. It was a girl with brown hair and brown eyes. She had a smile that was very sweet. His heart sank at the idea that these girls may never see their sister again. 

"Look, I'll take this picture and if something comes up I'll call you." 

Piper wrote her cell phone number on the back of the picture and she and Phoebe thanked Detective Riland before hurrying out the door. As they closed their car doors, Phoebe closed her eyes in thought and recalled her nightmares about the beast. 

"Piper, I think it's about time I told you in depth about my nightmares. Maybe there's a clue in there that will help us." 

"It's a start. I really don't think Detective Riland is going to be a big help. And where in the hell is Leo?" 

Jack Bijou could hear the screaming coming from inside the shack in the middle of the swamp. Fear. He could hear the fear so very clearly. He watched as the man, his enemy, moved from the window to the door. He wondered how Ben had the ability to control his morphing. He had watched Ben take Paige from the parking lot of the grocery store. However when Ben had taken Paige he was in his beast form. Now, as he watched Ben outside of the shack, Ben was in human form, and Jack had seen that look in Ben's eyes before. 

Jack looked down at his own fur-covered hand and frowned. He knew that he would scare Paige as much as Ben did even though he only wanted to protect her. He heard her scream louder as Ben began taking the chain off the door. 

He knew it was now or never, but he also knew that Ben was stronger than he was. He knew that the he would be outmatched, but for Paige's life he would risk his own. He was about to move from his hiding place toward the battle when a thought occurred to him. He knew that he should get her sisters. Their magic was strong, as strong as their bond with Paige. He could feel it. He knew that Paige would be hurt by Ben if he left, but he also knew that if he stayed and lost the fight that Ben would not only hurt Paige, he would kill her as well. 

Jack left his hiding place and retreated into the woods rapidly making his way to where he knew Paige's sisters would be. He hoped he could save Paige from Ben again. He prayed as he tore through the woods, an animal with a man's heart. 

Ben laughed as he finished unlocking the door. He could sense Jack nearby and was giddy with the thought that his formidable opponent had retreated into the woods. Ben was slightly disappointed that Jack had fled for he was always searching for a good fight. 

He pushed the door open and cringed with happiness at the sound of her screams. He thought that time would have dulled her fear but he realized with the deep intensity of her screams, time had only made him more powerful in her life. He loved the thrill of the hunt, but he loved the fear the most. Ben moved inside the shack and towered over Paige as she looked up at him screaming, tears marching single-file down her cheeks. 

He took in the look of her copper hair and her amber eyes. "Like fire," he thought. Very different from the girl he had damaged in the past. His eyes lingered on her body, her hands, shaking, as they covered her face. He was going to have more fun than he thought possible. 

Piper and Paige had been driving along the back roads of the swamps. Phoebe knew she and Piper were lost, but she could tell by her sister's grip on the steering wheel not to say anything. She knew she wouldn't have to when Piper pulled to the side of the road and looked at Phoebe. 

"Does anything look familiar at all, Pheebs?" 

Piper's discouraged tone and the tears that now ran swiftly down her cheeks stunned and silenced Phoebe's aching heart. She, too, allowed her tears to fall again. She touched one of Piper's hands that were glued to the wheel. Piper flinched and pulled away from Phoebe, leaving Phoebe in a world of confusion and rejection. 

Piper knew immediately what she had done, and although she made no physical attempt to reach out to Phoebe she did try to make amends with her words. 

"Phoebe, I'm sorry. I just…I can't take any affection right now. I have to stay strong for her. Does that make any sense?" 

Phoebe nodded, hoping for more. She was rewarded when Piper began to cry harder and yet remained upright and composed in stature. 

"It's just that, Paige has saved our asses more times than either of us care to admit this past year. Not just on a fight-a-demon level, but on a sister level. She has helped us heal. I don't wake up every morning any more wondering how bad my day will be without Prue. Instead I wake up knowing how perfect my day will be because of her and you. I love her so much, Phoebe and she hasn't known that for very long. I just don't want this to be the end. I need her, Phoebe. As much as you need me and I need you, we need her. And the idea that I could let this happen is killing me. So I don't think that I deserve any sort of comfort until she is safe with us. Can you understand that?" 

"Understand it? I feel it, Piper. Everything you're feeling now, the blame…it's not your fault. It's mine. I was so wrapped up in Cole's world and my own self-serving things that I didn't even give Paige a chance. I turned my back on her for Cole, even after what he did to her, and she still came through for me. So you know what, Piper? If Paige can forgive us for all our mistakes then we should get over ourselves and this self-blame bullshit and be there for her. She needs us and it's about time we're both there for her. Agreed?" 

Piper took in a shuddered breath and nodded. Before she could speak her attention was diverted to the road ahead of them where the headlights cut through the darkness. Phoebe followed Piper's gaze. The beast that stood before the old convertible was the monster from her dreams. 

"Piper…" 

"Let me guess," Piper whispered from the corner of her mouth, "That's the furry creature that you've been dreaming about?" 

Piper caught Phoebe's nod in her peripheral vision, "Okay, then. We should fight him, right. I mean we've gone up against bigger baddies than this, right?" 

Again, Phoebe nodded. Piper expected the beast to attack at any second. Instead the creature stood motionless in front of the car. Phoebe and Piper both stared, action-less, as it looked as though it struggled to say something. 

Detective Thomas Riland was astounded at the information he held in his hands. After hours of searching and researching, he had finally come across a database out of California that matched his criteria. The suspect in the cases in California of missing girls had the same profile and mode of operation as the perpetrator in New Orleans. The only problem was that the suspect was missing, presumed dead for six years. 

"Damn it! We can't catch a break!" He said as he threw the file across the room. In a flurry of paper the file landed on the floor. Thomas looked at the scattered mess and sighed. As he continued to look down at the papers, something caught his eye. A photograph, black and white, stared up at him. 

Thomas picked up the picture and stared at it closely. A close-up of a girl was the focus of the picture. She was coming out of, what appeared to Thomas to be, the back door to a house. Her clothes were torn and Thomas could see that her lip was bleeding and that she appeared to be extremely upset. If Thomas Riland had to hazard a guess, he'd say the girl had been attacked. His eyes switched from the girl in the photo to the girl in the picture given to him by the Halliwells. He knew the girl in the black and white picture was the same as the most recent victim. 

He flipped the black and white picture over and read the writing on the back. He read aloud to himself as his heart started to pound, "1996 Surveillance photo, unknown girl, suspect: Ben Caldwell." 

He flipped over the wallet-sized picture given to him by Piper Halliwell. He picked up his cell phone and as he started for his car he dialed her number. 

Piper and Phoebe stared at the beast as he struggled with himself. 

"What's it doing?" 

"I don't know Piper. It looks like it's trying to say something." 

"Right. A werewolf that talks." 

"Hey, you were a Wendigo once, maybe you can interpret." 

"Phoebe, if that was supposed to be funny, it wasn't." 

"Sorry, I joke when I get nervous." 

The beast moved slowly toward the car. Its clawed hands were lifted in the sign of surrender. Piper and Phoebe were both waiting to see what move it would make. And then it shocked them both by speaking. 

"Paige." 

"Piper, did that thing just say our sister's name?" 

"Uh. Yeah Pheebs, I do believe it did." 

They watched as the creature morphed into human form. He was naked and seemingly in pain. Piper and Phoebe both jumped out of the car and walked toward him. Piper could feel the urgency in the situation. She knew that somewhere in the swamps her sister was in trouble. 

"Where is our sister?" 

The man looked up at Piper. His blonde hair and blue eyes stopped Piper in her tracks. 

"You're the stranger aren't you? You're the one that saved Paige that night?" 

He nodded. 

Phoebe was catching on, "Where is she? Please, help us find her." 

"He has her. That monster has her." 

Piper was more than scared for her youngest sister, "Who has her? Ben?" 

The man looked surprised that Piper knew his enemy's name. Again he nodded. He looked as though he was hurting. Piper and Phoebe looked as though they realized for the first time he wasn't wearing clothes. Piper quickly retrieved the blanket from the backseat and gave it to him. 

"If Ben has her then he has no intentions but to hurt her, and to hurt her in ways we can't imagine. We have to get to her. Do you know where she is?" 

"I do. You'll have to follow me through the swamps though. She's in a shack in the woods." 

"The one I saw in my dreams," Phoebe whispered to Piper. Piper nodded, the ache in her heart growing more painful as the seconds passed. 

"What's your name?" Piper looked at the stranger's bright blue eyes, eyes that had once saved her sister. 

"Jack. Jack Bijou." 

"Okay, Jack, take us to where Paige is, please. When we get to her then you can explain everything to us." 

As Piper, Phoebe and Jack disappeared into the woods, the sound of Piper's cell phone broke through the intense silence of the swamps. 

Paige could barely breathe as the fear wrapped around her throat. As she watched Ben walk toward her, all she could hear were her own screams. She tried to regain some sense of where she was and who she was but the past rushed her. He hadn't even touched her and yet she could already feel the force he would use. As Ben edged closer to her, she stood up. Paige recalled the past year, the demons she had fought, the lives she had saved, and the sisters she had. She found, in those thoughts, an undeniable strength. But her strength came too late, her surge of self-confidence was squelched as Ben backhanded her, sending her flying to the floor. And in seconds, he was upon her, ripping at her clothes. Paige could feel his weight, the fierceness with which his hands tore at her clothes and then at her body. 

She tried to fight him, but his strength outmatched hers by far. She even tried to orb, but her powers were non-existent. She was helpless. His fingernails dug into her skin. She could feel the warm blood touching her arms, as she continued to struggle. Splinters from the floor dug at her now bare back. She tried not to look at Ben's' face, but something drew her eyes to his. His eyes were cold and dead, more so than when he had hurt her before, but yet his heart still beat and he was still alive enough to pin Paige to the ground pulling her arms far above her head. She could feel the intense pain in her left wrist as the muscles twisted in ways they weren't supposed to. 

And then as she screamed in pain, in fear, in agony, as she cried harder, as she fought with the little strength she had left, she felt some hope. She knew that Piper and Phoebe would be looking for her. She knew they were out there somewhere, wanting her to be alive and to make it back to them. She knew that even if Ben succeeded in his attempt to rape her that she would survive enough to make it back to her sisters. She would make it back to their arms and there she would heal. 

With that thought her world crashed as Ben for the second time in Paige's life, forced himself into her. She could barely hear him laughing as she shrieked in pain, in terror. She knew that she would never be able to be alone again if she made it out of the swamps alive. 

As he continued to push himself into her, Paige screamed for her sisters. She knew that her family was the only way she would ever make it back from her new hell. 

Phoebe's legs ached as they continued running further into the swamps. Her feet met puddle after puddle with soggy Adidas running shoes. She was ahead of Piper who trailed by a mere foot. Jack Bijou was some distance ahead of them. 

Phoebe could hear Piper's heavy breathing behind her. She knew that Piper had never run so far or so fast in all her life. She also knew that, for Paige, Piper would run to the ends of the world. Phoebe's ears detected a sound not too far away. Looking ahead of them she saw Jack Bijou stop and turn toward them with his fingers to his lips signaling them to be still and quiet. Piper and Phoebe both skidded to a halt at the sign and tuned their ears to the sounds around them. 

Piper had a thought and lifted her hands to blow up a fallen log. Nothing happened. She looked quizzically at Phoebe. Phoebe lifted her arms in an attempt to levitate. Again, nothing happened. 

Jack joined them and whispered softly, "There's old magic in the swamps. Your powers won't work here." 

"That can't be good," Piper said in an ominous tone. 

Phoebe's soul shook as a cry shattered their stillness. It crept into her blood and chilled her bones. The sound was indescribable to her, but Piper's whispered word next to her cleared up the question as to what made the sound. 

"Paige." 

Piper knew the sound her youngest sister was emitting was one of pain, and fear. Piper grabbed Phoebe's hand and ran quickly toward the sound. She did not care who was hurting her sister. She was going to kill him. 

It was Jack's turn to follow the girls as they tore off in the direction of Paige's pained screams. He knew that the oldest girl's heart must have broken as Paige shrieked two syllables with insurmountable terror. 

"Pi-per!!" 


	7. Chapter 7

She ached

She ached. She cried. She screamed. She fought. She failed. It was the last thing she thought before she retreated so far into her own mind that what Ben was doing to her no longer mattered. She was safe locked away in her own world. No one could hurt her there. No one could find her if she hid into the back of her mind, her mind reeled as she realized that although no one could hurt her if she hid in her mind, no one could help her either. That was when she began to scream for the one person she knew would give her everything she needed to come back. The protection, the love, the words of encouragement. She knew Piper would save her. She wanted to be save, for she did not want to die alone in a shack in the middle of the New Orleans swamps. 

Paige continued to fight although the damage had already been done. She knew that her life, as it had become, was worth fighting for. Paige scratched her nails down Ben's face drawing blood and a low growl from the man. He slapped her across the face as he once again gripped her arms above her head. Paige's wrist hurt beyond belief but still she continued to struggle with Ben. He was still forcing himself upon her as Paige saw that the door to the shack was thrown open. 

Paige screamed louder as a beast flung itself into the room grabbing Ben by the shirt and sent him crashing threw the wall into the night air. The building shifted with age as the wall buckled. It steadied itself as Paige gathered herself into a ball. She was too lost in herself to understand what was happening. She felt an arm on her naked back as she huddled in one of the remaining corners of the shack. Terror besieged her as the hand tried to turn her to face its owner. Then a voice sweeter than Heaven itself broke through Paige's confusion. 

"Paige, baby, it's me. It's Piper. Phoebe and I are going to get you out of here, okay? Paige, please, look at me." 

Paige found the will to look her oldest sister in the eye. She knew that Piper would read every emotion settled there, but she didn't care. She didn't want to hide from Piper or Phoebe. She only wanted to get away from Ben. 

Piper couldn't believe that she had let Paige be hurt. She knew she would spend an eternity trying to make it up to Paige. She looked at the youngest Halliwell and let tears fall for the bruised, bleeding girl. Piper held Paige's gaze, eye to eye. She was overwhelmed by the amount of fear and loss that was evident in Paige's light brown eyes. 

As Phoebe made sure the coast was free and clear of Ben and Jack, the dueling monsters, Piper helped Paige to stand, slowly. She could feel her little sister's legs shaking next to hers. She knew that Paige was in no condition to walk or run, but she also knew that they had to get her to the hospital. Without their powers and without Leo, it was impossible to make sure Paige was okay without taking her to the nearest emergency room. 

"Come on Paige, we have to get out of here." 

Paige nodded as she leaned into Piper. She knew she had to stay strong enough to get away from the swamps and then she could break down and cry. Then it would be okay to crawl into Piper and Phoebe's arms and let go. Paige tried to find her voice to tell Piper she could make it, but her voice was gone. No words could make their way to the surface. Instead she held on tightly to Phoebe and Piper's hands as they led her out of the shack and towards the woods in the direction of the road they had left their car on. As they neared the edge of the woods two beasts tumbled into their view clawing and attacking one another with a ferocity seen only in the wildest of animals. One beast was bigger than the other and as they rolled, werewolf to werewolf on the ground only one came up the winner. The other was lying, clawed deeply, bleeding on the ground. 

The sisters, frozen in their tracks, watched as the creature on the ground morphed into its human form. Phoebe could feel Paige shaking in her arms as they recognized the human form as Jack Bijou. Phoebe and Piper knew immediately that the beast left standing was Ben. Piper gripped Paige's hand tightly. She knew that if she and Phoebe could hold off Ben in his monster form for any amount of time then Paige could make it into the woods and into hiding. Although she knew it was dangerous to split up she felt as though Paige's best chance would be to run to the road for help. 

"Paige, you have to run, honey." Piper's voice was pleading and her heart was pounding with frustration, as Paige shook her head no. 

"Paige, listen to Piper. You're in no shape to fight him off again. Let me and Piper fight him so you can run for help. It's our only chance." 

Paige reluctantly let go of Piper and Phoebe, scarcely trusting her own legs. She carried with her through the woods as she began to run an image of Piper and Phoebe stepping between her retreating form and the looming fierceness of Ben in beast form. 

Phoebe took the first hit from Ben as the Loup Garou. The hit sent her flying backwards against a tree, rendering her immediately unconscious. 

"Damn you!" Piper screamed as she kicked the monster between the legs. The Loup Garou fell to his knees, allowing a howl of pain to escape its snarling lips. Piper swiftly delivered another kick to the being's face. It recoiled but then recovered quickly as it stood to face Piper. Piper could tell by the look in its eyes that she was in trouble. 

"Uh oh." It was the only sound she could utter before the beast raised its clawed hand and swiped at Piper's face sending her flying to the ground. Before she could recover, the Loup Garou was gone. He had gone into the woods after Paige. 

Phoebe slowly lifted herself from her awkward position on the ground. Shock shot through her body as she felt the muscles surrounding her ribs contract in pain. She knew the impact with the tree had cracked a few of her ribs. She half-walked, half-stumbled to Piper. She was taken aback as Piper lifted her head up from the ground. Her oldest sister's face was covered in blood. The sight scared Phoebe beyond belief. 

"Oh God. Piper! Can you hear me?" 

"Yes. I can hear you. But I can tell you right now that this claw mark is going to leave a nasty little scar." 

Piper wiped her face with her shirt to clear her vision. She grabbed Phoebe's hand and together, despite their aches, pains, and fear of what they might find, ran in the same direction Paige had gone in. 

Paige knew that Ben was close behind her. She concentrated on the path ahead of her. Just as she thought she could run no more, lights in the distance inspired her to run faster. Her skin, mostly bare, was being scratched and torn by the brush and thorns that marked the path. The lights grew larger in her vision. She made out blue and red lights, twisting and spinning in the night. She recognized them as the lights of a police car. She tried to scream in hopes they would hear her, but again her voice was absent. 

She could feel Ben behind her, gaining on her. She knew he must have supernatural strength. She wondered, as she ran, what had happened to Piper and Phoebe. Paige dug in and ran as fast as she could. As she neared the road she realized that there were several police cars each with two men crouching down, guns ready. Paige waved her hands above her head as she cleared the woods and ran into the road. Ben, unaware of the police squad, followed Paige into the open. He was met with the sound of gunfire and as bullets sprayed his body in wounds he fell to the ground. 

Paige felt hands on her. They felt funny. She looked at the hands and realized they were cloaked in rubber gloves. She looked at the uniforms that surrounded her and realized that she was being treated by the paramedics. She allowed herself to be led to the back of an ambulance. She never once let her gaze fall from the woods as she waited, hoped for Phoebe and Piper to come out of them. 

Her heart soared in hope as officers began to shout. Within minutes two officers emerged from the woods each carrying someone in his arms. Paige knew that the officers were carrying her sisters. She could tell that they were alive and annoyed at the special treatment they were being given. 

Paige pushed a paramedic away from her and rushed toward her sisters. The sight of the blood that covered Piper's face startled her but she wrapped her arms around Piper anyway. Piper hugged Paige in return and the three sisters sat on the asphalt holding one another. Piper let a paramedic clean her wound. 

"Ma'am. You three need to get to a hospital immediately. Your cut is pretty severe and we're not going to get the bleeding stopped until we get some stitches in it." 

"Is it possible for the three of us to go in the same ambulance? Please." 

The paramedic, a man in his late forties, looked sympathetically at the worn out sisters and nodded, "Only if you go now." 

Piper stood slowly, becoming dizzy from the blood loss. She lent Phoebe a hand and never let go of Paige with the other. Paige had still not said a word, crying silently. The three of them looked back to where the motionless body of the creature had morphed back into Ben. Paige shuddered and Phoebe and Piper pulled her closer as they crawled into the back of the waiting ambulance. 

As she made her way through the emergency room to the exam room Paige was in, Piper's hand touched the wound on her head that was covered in sterile gauze. The cut to her head, made by the Loup Garou, had taken 40 stitches to close. The emergency room doctor swore to Piper that the scar would be barely visible. She had hated the 20 minutes she had to be away from Paige and Phoebe. She knew Phoebe was getting her ribs wrapped, leaving Paige alone with another doctor. 

Piper slipped behind a curtain and her heart sank as she took in the sight of her baby sister. Paige was curled on one side, her copper hair, tangled and in disarray, was dulled with dirt and sweat. They had not yet given her a hospital gown so she was covered in a thin sheet. Her body, still mostly naked, shivered beneath the makeshift cover. Her eyes were unblinking, staring at the wall. He skin was beyond pale. Her right hand was clinched around her left wrist, which had already been put into a cast. Piper pushed the tears that threatened to fall away and sat where Paige was looking directly at her. She pried Paige's hands open and held one of them in her own. She let a tear fall, knowing that it was best if she showed Paige how good it was to cry. 

Paige felt the concern and love in Piper's eyes as she watched a tear fall from them. Her own eyes welled with tears as she searched again for the words to say to Piper. But she faltered and once again she remained quiet. She was afraid to speak, afraid to tell Piper anything, although she knew that Piper already knew. She wondered where Phoebe was. Her mind raced with thoughts and questions and fears, but her vocal cords no longer functioned. She knew that she lost more than her body that night. She had lost her ability to speak. She grasped Piper's hand tighter as the realization hit her and she began to sob. 

Together they made it through the rape exam. Piper refused to let go of Paige's hand. Her tears did not stop even after Paige's tears did. Piper hated herself for letting Ben hurt Paige again. She cursed herself for thinking she was strong enough to protect Paige. 

Phoebe, hand clenching her side, made her way to where Piper and Paige were coming out of a curtained room. She took note of Paige's hospital issue black sweats and freshly washed hair. Her skin was scrubbed clean. She hugged Paige and was glad that Paige hugged her back, tightly and sincerely. 

Piper's tone was tired, "Where've you been?" 

"The doctor told me that Detective Riland is downstairs in the morgue. They want us to ID the body." 

Piper glanced at Paige for her reaction and saw no emotions. Piper nodded. Phoebe shrugged and led the way to the elevator. Phoebe took Paige's hand in hers as they rode down to the basement level. As they stepped off the elevator, they were greeted by a solemn Thomas Riland. 

"I'm sorry to have to get you to do this so soon. But the truth is, once we get you three to ID these guys then we'll be done with you and you'll be free to return to California." 

Piper nodded, taking her spot as the oldest Halliwell seriously, "Can I ask you a question first?" 

"Sure, go ahead." Riland could imagine these girls were full of questions. 

"How did you know where we were?" 

"That's an easy one. I ran a GPS on your cell phone and we got coordinates on your car. A couple of our marked cars were on that side of town so we made it a point to wait, armed and ready." 

"Okay…but why did you track us in the first place?" Phoebe's question made Thomas Riland bite his lower lip. He glanced at Paige and back at the older Halliwells, unsure if he should continue in Paige's presence. 

As though reading his mind, Piper spoke up, "Anything you say can be said in front of Paige, especially if it concerns her." 

Piper could feel Paige watching, half-hiding behind her. 

Detective Riland cleared his throat and continued, "I did some research and cross-referenced our missing persons cases with those across the country. We came up with a bunch of unsolved cases in San Francisco. One of the files that was delivered to me had a picture in it. It was a black and white surveillance photo from 1996. It was a picture of Paige coming out of a house looking roughed up." 

Thomas Riland hated having to talk about his findings in front of the girl it had happened to. Looking at her wrist steadied in a red cast and her bruised neck, he swallowed hard. 

"The suspect's name was written on the back. Ben Caldwell. He was presumed dead. Now we know that he was just relocated. As soon as I matched your face to the picture your sisters gave to me, I knew we had to find you immediately. So I sent out the order for tracking your car and the APB on your little sister." 

Despite herself, Piper felt the warmth and compassion in Thomas Riland's eyes. He smiled at her slightly and Piper felt a twinge of guilt as she thought about Leo. First guilt, and then anger because without Leo they couldn't heal Paige and Paige couldn't heal them. She wondered briefly where he was and what his excuse would be. 

As they walked toward the morgue doors they heard the clattering of metal hitting concrete. Detective Riland, startled by the noise, pulled his gun from his shoulder holster and pushed the sisters behind him. They waited in silence as the morgue door came crashing open and a beast came running toward them. 

Piper, Paige, and Phoebe watched as Thomas Riland pulled the trigger and sent a bullet into the monsters' head. The monster dropped immediately and the body morphed into Ben Caldwell. A sigh of relief passed over Phoebe and Piper. Paige did nothing but shake. Her body was wracked with fear. Piper turned Paige's head into her shoulder so that Paige could no longer see the body. 

Piper was intrigued with Detective Riland, "How did you know that was the bad one." 

"There's a good one?" 

"Yeah, Jack Bijou, the other body in the woods," Phoebe's brow was raised. 

"We didn't find another body in the woods." 

Piper watched as confusion crossed over Detective Riland's eyes. Then she wondered if Ben Caldwell was truly dead. 

"How do you know he won't come back?" She spoke over Paige's shoulder as Paige kept her face buried in Piper's shoulder. Piper didn't want to let go of Paige for any reason. 

"Silver bullet." Detective Riland smiled and began to walk away, proud of himself for being open to the supernatural. He knew that this would not be the last time he'd see these girls. He gave Piper Halliwell his card as he walked away. "Call me if you ever need anything." 

The three sisters were tired when they got to the Fury, but Piper took the wheel ready to get out of New Orleans and ready to return to the manor. She wanted to know what Leo's problem was that he couldn't help them. She wanted to get Paige home and on the road to recovery. She wanted Phoebe to be home and getting some decent sleep. Piper wanted a lot of things. 

Phoebe sat in the passenger seat with the Book of Shadows in her lap. As Piper drove she used a flashlight to illuminate the pages of the book. She wrote all about the Loup Garou. 

She glanced at Piper and shrugged, "For future Halliwells." 

Piper nodded and glanced at Paige who was asleep between Piper and Phoebe, her head resting comfortably on Phoebe's shoulder. Piper tucked a stray piece of hair behind Paige's ear and concentrated on the road ahead. 'The long road ahead,' she thought. 

Three days later Piper, Paige and Phoebe Halliwell pulled into the city. Their trip home had been long and tedious. Paige couldn't be left alone and Piper couldn't leave her alone, so that had worked out well. But Paige had not yet said a word. Not one utterance with the exception of the screaming she had done as nightmares had invaded her sleep. 

Piper's head hurt from the bruising that had formed around her stitches and Phoebe winced every time they hit a pothole. The three of them were a rag tag group, weary and worn. But their troubles were only beginning and that became obvious to the sisters as they pulled into the driveway, left the luggage in the car and opened the front door to the manor. The manor had been torn apart. Furniture was shredded, paper was scattered everywhere. Lamps, windows and mirrors had been shattered. 

Phoebe sighed aloud as she said, "I guess when the cat's away the demons will play, huh?" 

Piper almost laughed but a thought crossed her mind. She looked toward the stairs and knew that above them laid a truth she didn't want to uncover. 

"Oh god," was all Piper said before racing up the stairs. She knew her sisters were following her closely. As she threw open her bedroom door all her questions were answered. Lying on the bedroom floor among the debris of trash-formerly-known as furniture, was Leo. 

Piper knelt next to him and put her hand on his cheek. She knew as she studied the Darklighter arrow protruding from his chest, that Leo was gone forever. It was why he hadn't answered their calls. 

"Why?" It was the only question Piper had no answer to. She lifted his head and placed it in her lap. Her tears uncontrollable as the love of her life, her angel, their angel, lay motionless. She felt Phoebe's hand on her back and Paige's hand on hers as she held Leo's hand. Piper brought tear-soaked eyes to look at Paige. Paige was not crying, but Piper knew she saw something much deeper in those young, pained eyes. Paige had said nothing for three days. Not one single word. And suddenly, as though someone from above implored her to say it, her voice, barely above a whisper, stuttered into existence for one brief moment. 

"I'm s-s-sorry." 

And with that Paige ran from the room. Piper held onto Leo as Phoebe looked around the room. Red numbers on the dresser caught her attention. She looked from the dresser to the nightstand where the alarm clock sat. The numbers on the clock on top of the dresser were ticking away quickly. 

"Oh God, Piper. We've got to get Paige and get out of here." 

"I'm not leaving Leo." 

"Piper, listen to me, damn it. That clock ticking away on your dresser is connected to a crap-load of dynamite. We've got to get Paige and get out of here." 

Piper, not believing what Phoebe was telling her, looked at the dresser to see for herself. The clock showed 20 seconds left on the clock. Piper tried to freeze it but was stunned when her powers still didn't work. Piper gave Leo one last kiss on the forehead before quickly standing and grabbing Phoebe's hand. 

"Paige!" 

Piper and Phoebe found Paige sitting on the edge of her bed. Piper grabbed her by the arm and pulled her toward the hallway. Paige did not hesitate to follow. Before they made it to the front door, Paige quickly pulled free of Piper's grasp. 

"Paige, what are you doing there's a bomb in the house we have to get out of here now!" 

Paige grabbed the picture of Phoebe, Piper and Prue off of the mantle in the living room. Just as the three sisters cleared the front door and made it into the car, an explosion erupted into the air. 

Piper quickly put the Fury into gear and pulled out of the driveway. Slamming it into drive she peeled out down the street. She was going to go to P3 but she knew that if the manor was rigged then the club would be too. Their lives as they knew it were over. All they had were each other, a book of spells, and a 1967 baby blue sports Fury. 

EPILOGUE: 

A month had passed. The sisters had been cleared on all charges of arson. They had collected the insurance money on both the club and the manor. Piper had grieved Leo more than she thought possible, but she knew in her heart that he was always watching. Her head showed the signs of the Loup Garou, a faint scar. Phoebe's ribs had healed. Paige had only uttered that one apology since they had left New Orleans. Otherwise, she had remained wordless. Piper worried about her, but knew that the only thing she could do was to leave California with her sisters and start over. She knew that they were powerless. None of them had experienced any power surges since New Orleans. They hadn't seen Grams or their mother. No word from the elders. Nothing. Piper knew that they had been left to fend for themselves. She knew that in reality she had been left to fend for all of them. And she would. No matter the costs. 

As Piper guided the car onto the interstate, she glanced in her rearview mirror as Phoebe wrote in her journal. To her right in the passenger seat, Paige quietly drew pictures in her sketchbook. Piper turned on the radio. Country music sang to them. 

_I've dealt with my ghosts and faced all my demons  
Finally content with a past I regret  
I've found you find strength in your moments of weakness  
For once I'm at peace with myself  
I've been burdened with blame, trapped in the past for too long  
I'm movin' on_

Phoebe looked out at the bay as they moved away from the city. The sun glistened off each wave, dancing in the morning brightness. She recalled the times she had spent on the beach with Prue, the life she could have led with Cole. And she thought of their childhood home gone. She knew that all they had was each other. She put down her pen and leaned over the front seat giving Piper a kiss on the cheek. Thankful and feeling fortunate that, at least, she had Piper and Paige. 

_I'm movin' on  
At last I can see life has been patiently waiting for me  
And I know there's no guarantee's, but I'm not alone  
There comes a time in everyone's life  
When all you can see are the years passing by  
And I have made up my mind that those days are gone_

Paige watched as the face on her drawing became clearer and clearer. Prue's smile formed as each twist of the pencil brought another new line. Paige could feel Prue in her heart. She knew that Leo, Grams, and their mother were all their in her heart. She could feel them. Their love, their power, their belief that everything would work out somehow. It was as though they were speaking to her, and they were the only ones that Paige could speak to, because her mind allowed her to say many things, even if her voice would not. Paige glanced at Piper, showing her the drawing. Piper, tears in her eyes, smiled with pride and love. Paige was glad that through everything her sisters would be there. If she ever lost them. Life for her would be over and there would be no need to recover from what Ben had done to her. She smiled back at Piper, hoping that it would be enough to say, however silently, that she loved her. 

_I sold what I could and packed what I couldn't  
Stopped to fill up on my way out of town  
I've loved like I should but lived like  
I shouldn't  
I had to lose everything to find out_

Piper allowed a tear to fall as she thought about her last conversation with Leo and her last moment with Prue. Piper had loved both of them ferociously and never a day would pass that she didn't remember that. She looked at the coast as they drove and she knew that they were leaving home. She and her sisters had salvaged what they could from the area surrounding the manor and had packed the Fury to its fullest capacity. Piper had traded the Jeep for cash and Paige had traded the Volkswagen for the Fury. Everything they had was in the convertible. And Piper was happy enough to have Paige and Phoebe with her. She knew that she would spend the rest of her life fighting for her sisters. She knew that in order to make amends, to get their powers back they had to fight somewhere other than San Francisco. The one thing she had learned from their recent trip was that there were people being terrorized all over the country. If she was ever to redeem herself in her own eyes, if she were to ever forgive herself, she would have to fight. 

As she glanced in the mirror she saw that Phoebe was watching her, and as she glanced to Paige she saw that she, too, was waiting for some sign of relief from the grief that overwhelmed them all. Phoebe finally broke the silence. 

"So, Piper…where are we going?" 

"Miami." 

Piper could feel both sets of her sisters' eyes on her. Phoebe asked, "What's in Miami?" 

Piper smiled, "Ever hear of the Chupacabra?" 

_Maybe forgiveness will find me somewhere down this road  
I'm movin' on_


End file.
